WiR: Pool Adventure :)
by the pixlexic sloth
Summary: (Recently Updated and Edited :)) "WE'RE GONNA SPLASH IT!" At the Game Central Station Pool, Ralph and Vanellope go on a new, at times emotional adventure- one that includes an epic water fight, a broken necklace and, of course, some much needed smirks :) It's a loong story... ;)
1. Chapter 1:Getting There

**Chapter One: Getting There**

 **(F.Y.I: This chapter kinda strays from the pool scence ; it really focuses more on them getting to the pool, getting ready to "jump in" and the importance of each other in their lives. More pool scenes are coming in later chapters, though! Hope all enjoy! :) )**

"Wow! Can ya believe the size of of this place?!" Vanellope von Schweetz asked the villain Wreck-It Ralph excitedly as she glitched to and fro in front of his large feet.

"Well, I would if I could actually _see_ ," the large man replied with a huff.

Being the (obvious) bigger of the two, Ralph had the arms and hands to carry two beach chairs, two umbrellas, two beach towels and a large tote that contained sun block, bathing suits, sun glasses, a few books, water toys- and who knows _what_ all else Vanellope threw in there.

"I can't be it! I'm _actually_ here- at the Game Central Statio _pool!_ " Vanellope squealed excitedly as she wiggled with pure, childlike excitement.

Although he even couldn't really _see_ her (the stuff he was carrying mostly blocked the poor man's walking vision), Ralph couldn't help but smile at the child's excitement.

It had already been a few months since the game jumping adventure and game reset for the two friends, but Ralph still loved how Vanellope loved exploring the world. Which was all still pretty new to her - after she was _finally_ able to explore outside own her game. Since then, the two had been into every game and back, loving every moment- Vanellope, loving discovering new games and different parts of Game Central Station; Ralph, simply loving spending time with his small yet feisty friend. This (coupled with the whole life-saving adventure that began it all for the two) made them inseparable. You would rarely see one without the other after the arcade closed for the day.

But this day was special- it was Vanellope's first time to the pool at the Game Central Station Pool. And Ralph wanted it to be perfectly memorable for his best friend.

After rejecting many spots Ralph practically _begged_ her to pick, Vaneollpe finally found the perfect place- a spot right between the pool (a safe distance from slashing, she said) and the snack bar.

Ralph practically threw everything down at once, relieved she finally found a spot (although it looked _exactly_ like the spot _he_ had picked earlier). Then he started the daunting task setting of the beach chairs as Vanellope practically wigged out beside him.

She could barely take it all in - the sight of the shimmering, gorgeous pool full of characters from all games; the feeling of the electronical sun kissing her skin; the delicious smell of hot dogs and burgers from the already packed snack bar; the buzz of nosie beaming from excited guests waiting their turn for the changing rooms.

She loved it all- and couldn't wait to experience it all.

"Cmon, Ralph! Move your molasses!" She whined impatiently.

"Well, it might go faster if I had a little help," he growled as he struggled with opening up an umbrela with his ginormous hands.

Vanellope just stared at him, not catching a hint.

"Well, then go get a little help!" She yelled, laughing her head off. Ralph wasn't so amused.

"You get your little glitch butt over here to help or I'll throw ya in the pool," he threatened her, but Vanellope knew he was only kidding.

"Was that a threat, Stink Brain? " She pushed mischievously.

"More like a wish," he teased her, reaching over and gently tickling her. Giggling, that was all that was needed to motivate her to help set up the umbrellas.

When the umbrellas were finally attached to the chairs, Vanellope zipped off to change into her new bathing suit that she had picked out herself- with Ralph's approval, of course.

The one piece (on the "must" list for her bathing suit by Ralph) was a mint green with purple and white swirls on it. It also came with a purple sprinkled brown ruffled skirt (a "plus", Ralph had said, liking the way it was modestly covering up the child's partly bare legs) and a matching towel.

It was cute and spunky -right up Vanellope's alley, yet modest and non-revealing, making a protective Ralph more at ease being at the pool with her. It was definitely a change from her mint sweatshirt and tights, but Ralph was happy Vanellope was happy with it.

When she came skipping back from changing at the dressing rooms at the pool, Ralph went to change into his bathing suit- which was really just trading his orange shirt and overalls for a plain brown shirt and shorts.

"Hey! We match! " Vanellope squealed with delight when he came back, pointing her brown shirt.

Ralph smiled at her, loving how she got excited over little things like that.

"Yeah, we do, huh President Fart Feathers?" He affectionately ruffled her hair as he sat down on the side of his chair.

"Yay! Now that we're _finally_ ready," Vanellope began, "we can go play!"

She took off, but a familiar jumbo finger gently wrapped around her tiny waist, stopping her and pulling her back.

"Woah woah woah there, Booger Face," Ralph commanded her. "You need sun screen on first."

Vanellope gave an annoyed huff as the wreckor grabbed their bag and fished around for the sun block. When he found it, he squirt a big blob ito his massive hand and began gently rubbing it all over the squirming-to-get-in-the-pool kid.

"There! Done," Ralph said, and just to annoy her, added, "Wait, I forgot a spot."

Vanellope, obviously annoyed, just sighed as she rolled her eyes. "Uh, _where_?" she glared.

"Oh...just...here ,and here and here!" Ralph exclaimed slowly as he picked up a squealing Vanellope and tickled her under her chin repeatedly.

Giggling, she mischievously grabbed the sunblock from the bag and squirt it into her hands. "Now it's _your_ turn."

After the two were literally covered in sunblock, Vanellope started to get antsy again.

" _Now_ can we go play now?" she whined to Ralph.

"No quite yet, kiddo," Ralph told her. "One more important thing to do."

"What?!" Vanellope asked impatiently before addly wearily: "And it better not be just more tickling."

Don't get her wrong: any little girl loved a good tickling matched with her best friend (especially whenever she'd come up victorious). But even _that_ got old in comparison to the prospect of cannonballing into a large, cooling pool on a hot day.

Just when Vanellope thought she'd never get to get in the pool, Ralph just shook his head, smiled and extended one of his large hands flat in front of her, expectedly.

At first, Vanellope stared blankly at his hand, not fully understanding what he wanted from her.

He cleared his throat impatiently, trying to make it more clear as he pushed his hand gently towards her once again.

"Oh, yeah.." she said, remembering the earlier discussion they had had about going to the pool and what could/couldn't get wet with pool water. She quickly reached up to unclip her random pieces of candy clips in her hair.

"There," she said rather quickly as she placed the pieces in his hand, hoping that they were all he remembered that needed to be removed.

Ralph just pointed silently at her licorice tie holding up her hair, indicating it needed to be removed as well. She quickly compiled, allowing her raven black hair to fall messily around her face.

"Earings, too," Ralph said automatically.

She quickly pulled them off and placed them cautiously in his hand, too. Pausing for a slip secound, Vanellope figured he had...well, forgotten about the...

But it didn't really matter; besides, _she_ sure as heck wasn't going to remind him.

"Great," the child began quickly. " _Now_ I can- "

"Remove the necklace, too," Ralph interrupted her, placing the hair tie, clips and earings in their bag.

Dang it. Almost got away with it.

"No, I am _NOT_ taking the necklace you made me off! Nuh, uh! No way!" she refused, backing away from him.

"Kid, we talked about this, remember?" Ralph told her gently. "It might get ruined if it gets wet."

Vanellope just shook her head viciously. She had purposely chosen to "forget" this part of their conversation earlier- and was determined to leave it that way.

Sighing in her defiance, Ralph could only think of one other thing to do.

He grabbed their beach bag and opened it to reveal that he too had removed his most prized possession: the necklace Vaneollpe had given him so many months ago.

The heart-shaped cookie necklace inscribed with the words " _You're my hero_ " was safely placed on top the other random items in the bag as to not get squished.

"I always hate removing mine, too," Ralph comforted Vanellops by admitting, nodding down at his necklace.

"But... I'm getting there, Kiddo," he smiled sheepishly at her before continuing.

"I only removed it when there's a chance it might get ruined- like getting wet by pool water."

Vaneollpe cluched her most prized possession closer to her: a messy, big-hand made necklace from Ralph. She thought back to whenever Ralph "gave" it to her...

 _He had made it shortly after her leaving her game for the first time as a "Welcome to Game Central Station" present. In the middle was a heart- shaped bead that contained the same message the necklace she had given him so many months ago did: "You're my hero."_

 _Although cute and sweet, the necklace had it's fault, though._ _Other multicolored, misshapened beads surrounded_ _the middle one_ _, making the necklace itself have no order, and be sloopy and non-consistent._

 _It was, as Sergeant Calhoun had said, "obviously a man's work" and "the sorriest necklace ever created"._

 _All this made Ralph reconsider giving the necklace to the child in the first place, thinking she'd hate it and trash it._

 _He should've known better._

 _Vanellope (snooping around in Ralph shack one day) found it and absolutely loved it, saying it "matched" everything she own. She then begged Ralph to let her keep it._

 _"That was the original plan for it, Fart Feathers," he said, relieved, yet shocked she loved it so much._

 _Eyes wider than Ralph ever thought possible, Vanellope squealed with absolute delight, begging Ralph to help her put it on._

 _"I made it. ...for you, you know," he admitted sheepishly as he slipped it over her head._

 _The child turned around to face him, her face uncharacteristically serious._

 _"Really?" she whispered. "Its so... amazing," she added, then her eyes fell on the middle bead's message that mirrors the one she had given him._

 _Staring at it, her hazel eyes began to fill with tears._

 _Ralph immediately got worried. Did she suddenly hate it, causing her to cry?_ _But before he could ask her what's wrong, it became clear nothing was._

 _She just jumped up and hugged his neck gently._

 _"Thank you," she whispered so softly he had to strain to hear it._

 _After a minute, he pulled her back so he could see her face, so full of suprise... and untold appreciation._

 _"I had no idea that I was your hero, too," she told him wide eyed._

 _"Of course, kid," Ralph told her as he tucked a few of her bangs gently behind her ear._

 _Vanellope smiled at him, then tearfully at the necklace._

 _"No one has ever giving me a hand -made gift before," she admitted, sounding slightly ashamed. "Especially not one this beautiful." She began to play affectionately with the necklace that now hung around her neck._

 _Ralph wasn't used to this side of Vanellope, so sensitive and innocent; he was used to the tomboy, rough and tough girl who never really showed much emotion. But he, of course, loved both sides of her, amazed at how cute she looked just then._

 _"It fits its new owner well ,then," he commented fondly, causing her to blush slightly as he ruffled her hair gently._

 _"You truly are my hero, kid," he confirmed. "And always will be, too."_

 _Tickling her, the gentle man immediately knew he really_ _was a "stink brain" for ever thinking she'd hated his gift._

 _As for Vanellope, t_ _he mere fact that she meant that much to someone- to be someone's hero- touched her deeply._

 _Although never spoken, it was obvious that she loved the way that felt and the way it made her feel: special, wanted and loved._

 _All completley new feelings to her._

 _And Ralph loved that he was the first one who really made her feel that way._

 _Quickly after receiving the necklace from Ralph, Vanellope vowed to never to take off the necklace._

 _So, like Ralph did, Vaneollpe wore that necklace everywhere\- while racing, exploring different games, even while sleeping (which came in handy when she had nightmares)._

 _Loving the warmness it gave her, she never took it off- and, with everyone knowing how much it meant to her, never asked her to take it off. _

Up until now, that day at the pool.

By the man that gave the necklace to her in the first place.

"Cmon, kid," Ralph coaxed the anxious child, shaking her from flashback. "I know how much that necklace means to you- mine means alot to me, too. But, look, took mine off- and it's safe in here," he reasoned with her.

"Yours will be, too."

Vanellope glanced down at her necklace- then back at the shimmering pool.

"O-okay," she finally gave in, slowly pulling the necklace off and handled it to Ralph.

With her watching like a hawk, he placed it gently in the bag, right next to his.

Instantly, Vanellope hated the way it felt being off her neck; it felt like something major was missing, the warmness she treasured so much, gone. Stuff into a bag... abandoned or something.

She frowned, thinking she'd never like being apart from her precious gift- even for a little bit. She almost even asked for it back instead of being able to swim.

But when Ralph smiled reassuring and affectionately at her, she couldn't help but smile back.

She knew was still his hero- with or without the necklace.

The warmness coming back, Vanellope knew she never going to get miss anything again. And although it felt weird without having the necklace on, she could handle it.

She could see herself getting there, at least.


	2. Chapter 2:Sidekick Planning-For Dummies

**Chapter Two: Sidekick Planning- For Dummies**

( **Sorry it took me so long to update with other chapters lol** **I had bits and pieces of the chapter 2 and even chapter 3 here and there. I originally had Chapter 2 and 3 together, but I thought it was way too long, so I had cut it in half and fill in the gaps (though, this chapter still ended up pretty long). Chapter 2 focuses on the, at times, silliness of Ralph's and Vanellope's friendship (and contains more pool scenes) ;) I'll be releasing chapter 3 soon, too. Hope you guys enjoy Chapter 2**! **:D)**

 **(@ Agent BM: Thank you and thanks for reviewing :) )**

 **(@ Moises781: Thank you for the review! I'm glad that you find the two are in character...I felt worried I had really strayed from the Ralph and Vanellope we know from the movie. Hopefully I don't disappoint with this chapters (or the following ones)! ;D)**

 **(@ I'm Reader-anon: I can see where someone could get kinda lost when it comes to the type friendship Ralph and Vanellope have here. Hopefully it becomes more clear for ya in this and later chapters what I personally view the relationship the two to be. Thanks** **for reviewing! :) )**

After a much heated debate on whether she had to wear arm floaties or not, Ralph finally got Vanellope to cave in and she grudgingly put them on. And although it was much to her dislike when Ralph told her she had to stay in the shallow end of the pool until she at least learn how to doggy paddle, Vanellope still complied. At this point, the child was willing to do _anything_ to get in that pool.

"Ok," Ralph began to tell a now exasperated Vanellope, "One more thing, Madam Booger Face." He shoke his massive finger at her. "And it's major requirement."

Vaneollpe sighed. _Great_ _, now what?_ she thought to herself as she looked longingly at the pool, where many of her friends from Sugar Rush were already playing. At this rate, she was _never_ going to get to get in the beautiful, glistening pool.

"Okay, what is it?" she asked frantically.

"Go have a ton of fun, Fart Feathers." Ralph smiled playfully and good- heartedly punched her tiny shoulder extremely gently.

Vanellope eyes widened, too shocked to say anything at first.

Ralph laughed and gently nudged her towards the pool. "Go play already, kid."

Finally, it slowly began to sink in. Her eyes growing brighter, Vanellope's whole face lit up with an incredibly big smile.

"Yes!" she squealed extremely excitedly as she fist pumped the air. " _Finally!_ I GET TO PLAY IN THE... _POOL!_ "

The elated glitched around and squealed in pure happiness. Ralph just smiled at his petite friend's excitement as she took off for the shallow end of the pool.

After a moment, though, the little glitch sped to a stop- when not hearing (or feeling) her big friend's giant feet pounding the sidewalk behind her. Glancing behind her, Vanellope turned to see Ralph was digging in their beach bag, trying to find something.

"Ah-ha!" He exclaimed as he pulled out a book. The giant then leaned back in his chair, set and comfortable.

It took Vanellope a second to take in the sight.

"Uh, aren't ya gonna come play? " She asked him, sounding somewhat anxious.

"Nope, not at the moment, at least." Ralph told her nonchalantly as he looked for the last page he had read in his book.

"Wait..you came all the way to the Game Central Station Pool, just to read some stupid _book?"_ Vanellope asked ridiculously.

"Not just _any_ book, Madam Fart Breath," he smirked and showed her the cover.

" ' _T_ _oilet fixing- For Dummie_ s'?" Vanellope read the cover out loud.

"Well, yeah." Ralph told her. "Felix and Calhoun are out of town today, so I have to actually fix my _own_ things now. Which now includes a toilet...thanks to _you_ ," he growled at her as an after thought.

"For the last time already, _I didn't know that you can't flush marshmallows from Sugar Rush down the_ _toilet, OKAY?!_ " Vanellope screeched defensively. "How was _I_ supposed ta know they soak up water and that they would clog up your toilet?"

Ralph just shoke his head.

"My question is, why did you do that in the first place...in MY bathroom, nonetheless?" He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Rancis dared me, ok?!" The child admitted, walking exasperatedly back over to Ralph. "He told me he'd give me two cherries if I'd do it. TWO cherries. From _PAN-MAN._ " She then smirked at him as she came close to his chair. "C'mon, even you'd flush _me_ down the toilet for some of _those_ babies."

"You should've known better than to trust that _Rancid_ fellow." He rolled his eyes mockingly. "And oh, I'd flush you down the toilet for _alot_ of reasons." He slid on his sun glasses. "But I can't, 'cause now it's clogged because of you."

Vanellope ignored the digs.

"C'mon, Ralphie! Can't you just read how to fix it later?" She whined as she tugged at his arm. Ralph looked at her over his sun glasses and sighed.

"Listen, kid. I'm not just reading cause I need to fix the toilet," Ralph began, sounding tired. "It's been a looong week, too. With Felix going out of town, I've been helping him with some side jobs of his these past few days before he left. And, on top of that, we've been running around helping other game characters, fixing and wrecking things. Constantly." The wrecker rubbed the back of his neck tiredly. Seeing that Vanellope wasn't getting the point, he continued.

"So, you know, I've been busy. No real time to relax this week at all. I'm kinda exhausted now." He leaned back further into his beach chair and went limp to prove his point.

Knowing that she was about object (probably just to say that he was just "old" or "lazy" or "needed to work out more to not be so tired"), Ralph quickly added: "We all can't just sit behind a steering wheel all day like _some_ people do."

Ralph couldn't but smirk, knowing that he'd get a rise out of the racing child for it.

Before Vanellope could interject that go- kart racing was just ( if not _more_ so) as exhausting as wrecking things is and, not to forget, she was, on top of that, also the stinking _president_ her game, Ralph cut the conversation short.

"I just need some down time, kid," he told her gently. "You go play with your friends right now, and I'll join ya here in the pool in a little bit, ok?" Ralph went back to his book.

"But...I want by _best friend_ to play with me," Vanellope whimpered, making her eyes going full sad-puppy-dog size.

Ralph usually couldn't resist that look-and Vanellope knew it, too. She pulled this look often with him, just to get her way.

But Ralph had already stuck his nose somewhere inside his book.

"You've got other friends, kid," he told her flatly. "Now go play."

This 'rejection' was all a little too much for Vanellope to be able to handle.

"So, you're not going to play in the pool right now?" She asked annoyingly, double-checking in case Ralph decided to change his mind suddenly.

The wreckor peeked around his book to throw her a pointed look.

"Go get your butt in the pool before I have ta throw you in," he glared.

Vanellope wanted to object, but she could tell by his mumbling about not having "a stinkin' clue" about what "wax gaskets or closet bends in a toilet" are that there was no way he was getting up any time soon. So when he waved her off to prove his point further, she just narrowed her eyes, growled and stomped away.

 _Man, grown ups are SO weird sometimes,_ she thought to herself.

As she approached the pool, her fellow racers from Sugar Rush, Taffeta, Rancis, and Candlehead, were swimming and slashing around a bit. Taffeta smiled at Vanellope and called her over to where she was already swimming. Vanellope was slightly relieved to see they were wearing arm floaties, too.

As excited as she was, however, Vanellope was still a little scared to get into a real life _pool_. Sure, there was the small chocolate pool in Sugar Rush. But this was different.

 _This_ was water, in a large pool - and was outside her game as well. If she were to drown or something, she couldn't regenerate. She silently became relieved that Ralph made her wear those arm floaties and to stay in the shallow end for a while.

Vanellope stood cautiously at the edge of the pool before (literally) sticking her big toe in. The chilling touch of the cold water ran up through her whole body.

 _Okay, Vanellope_. _Just cause Ralph isn't right here beside ya doesn't mean you can do this on your own,_ she coaxed herself _You got this._

Slowly, she slipped her full foot in, then her leg and so on.

 _C'mon, Vanellope! All your citizens are watchin' ya right now_! She mentall reprimanded herself. _Don't be such a chicken._

Before she knew it, she was fully in the shallow end of the pool, which still came up to about her shoulders. The cooling water felt amazing to the touch. She felt completely weightless, like she was floating effortlessly. Giggling, Vanellope relaized how silly she was to ever be afraid in the first place.

She quickly plugged her nose and dunked her head completely under the water. She popped up seconds later, loving the way the refreshing water felt on her face. It all felt like some sort of dream.

"Hey, Princess Vanellope!" Candlehead called to her leader, snapping Vanellope from her real life dream.

"Its _President_ Vanellope, Candlehead," the glitch jokingly corrected her as she slowly swam over by pushing the water back with her arms and legs.

"Right, sorry," Candlehead blushed. "How do you like the Game Central Station Pool? Pretty cool, right?" she continued.

"Uh, heck yeah!" Vanellope gawked. "This place is _awesome_!" She watched as her own hair floated with her as she floated back and forth slowly.

Candlehead giggled. "You want to play with Taffeta's water toys with us?" she asked shyly.

"Of course!" Vanellope responded not-so- shyly. "Even the president deserves some fun every once and a while with her friends."

This made Candlehead smile as both girls made her way over to where their other friends were.

The Sugar Rush racers, along with some of the other game characters residing in the shallow in of the pool, all began a game of catch with Taffeta's beach ball. That game quickly faded away when Rancis started to playfully splash everyone, making everyone laugh and returned the favor to him, lead by Vanellope herself.

Vaneollpe found herself having was so much in the pool that she even had forgotten all about Ralph for a moment.

But then characters started to pair up as partners to play a game Candlehead made up. Everyone's partners, of course, turned up to be their best friends. They all quickly swam to meet their best friends and wait excitedly by their best friend's side.

All except for Vanellope.

She knew her best friend wasn't even in the pool.

"Hey, you, um, want to be my partner, President Vaneollpe?" Taffeta ask somewhat shyly as she swam up to Vanellope cautiouly.

Vaneollpe couldn't help but hesitate. The pain in her chest grew sharper and deeper. Sure, she loved Taffeta and her other friends from Sugar Rush.

But they were all just her _friends_.

Not her _best_ friend. Her favorite friend. Her best buddy. Her hero. Who she was a true sidekick to forever.

At that moment, Vanellope wished more than anything that Ralph was in the pool, too- as _her_ partner and best friend.

 _But no, Felix and that stupid marshmallow had ta go and changed all that fun we were gonna have, _the sassy little girl hissed to herself as she glanced longingly over at where Ralph had been lounging- only to see he wasn't there.

Spying him over at the snack bar to get a cool drink, Vanellope saw her chance and decided to take it.

Now was her chance to make her hero pay for him chosing some stupid book over her.

"Uh, sorry, Taffeta," Vanellope quickly told the other racer, who had been waiting for an answer. "There's something I need to do real quick before I can keep playing."

Without waiting for a response, Vanellope quickly glitched out of the pool, onto the fairly dry pavement and raced over to Ralph's empty chair.

When he came back, Ralph found Vanellope had, not only stolen his book, but also his trailered-made sunglasses and his large beach chair. She was wrapped up in her towel, peering into Ralph's book with a mocked expression of deep interest on her face.

"Hmmm...float ball...flush value chain... Hero's _Doodie_..." she faked read out loud.

Ralph chuckled. "You look like you were having fun in the pool, Verminous Booger Face."

She snorted in reply. "Yeah, way more fun than _you've_ been having."

The little smartie then peered up at him over the sun glasses, which were way too big for her face.

"See how _stupid_ you've been looking this whole time, Stink Brain?" her snubbed at him.

Ralph forced himself not to laugh, knowing she was trying to prove a point and being serious. But instead of looking 'stupid', she looked absolutely adorable- as she always seemed to when she was trying to be serious.

"Yup, real stupid," he told the smartie as he scooped her up and set her in her own beach chair. "Now, if you'll excuse me," he added as he took his book and sunglasses back and sat back down again. "I'd like to go back to looking stupid now."

Ralph laid his back lazily up against the chair once more and took a sip of his smoothie.

 _Rats_ , Vanellope thought to herself with an angry huff, _my brilliant plan didn't work._

She hastily grabbed their bag and got her own, much smaller sunglasses out. Sticking them on her face, Vanellope leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms defiantly and thought hard.

 _There's gotta be a way to get Stain Brain in that pool. __I need another plan._

She silently watched for a moment as Taffeta, partnered with Rancis, were laughing as splashing Candlehead, who quickly grabbed a water shooter near by and squirted them both with a ton of water. Now it was Candlehead's turn to laugh victoriously.

Just then, Vanellope sat up suddenly so fast it knocked her sunglasses off.

An idea hit her like a ton of bricks. The idea quickly became a plan. Maybe a not well-thought-out plan, but a plan nonetheless.

A plan, Vaneollpe thought, that _had_ to get her hero in the pool. Or, possibly, just get her killed.

Either way, it was a risk any sidekick was willing to take.


	3. Chapter 3:Mental photos of a Dreamer

**Chapter Three:** **Mental Photos of a Dreamer in Floaties.**

( **After reviewing the past 2 chapters I noticed that, although they aren't first person narrative, I've accidentally made them so as to really taken on how Vanellope views things, and they both are kinda way more focused on her than Ralph. _This_ chapter, however, focuses mainly on Ralph. It definitely is like the 1st chapter in that gets back to the sentimental feel, which is honestly the majority of this chapter. Warning though: Its a incredibly long chapter, with a _lot_ of the feels. Hope all enjoy**!

 **(@ Reader-anon: Yay! :D** **Glad you've got that from chapter 2 :) Hopefully this chapter and the others coming after it help to lead you to that conclusion further, along with how much Vanellope really does mean to Ralph ;D )**

Vanellope decided now was the time to follow through with her perfect sidekick plan.

Smirking silently at Ralph, she tossed her shades in the bag and stood up from her beach chair.

Sighing over dramaticly, she told Ralph: "Okay, fine. I'll just go play all by myself like a loser."

"Have fun with that," Ralph told her unfazed as he turned the page in his book. The child just quickly and mischievously walked over to the pool and slipped in silently.

After a few mintues of silenctly reading, Ralph realized something.

He was reading a chapter on the supply tube and stop value in a toilet when he realized he wasn't subconsciously hearing Vanellope laughing and splashing her friends, as she had done earlier.

Worried, Ralph quickly looked up and spotted Vanellope in the pool, surrounded by her Sugar Rush friends. He was relieved to see she was ok, but then quickly got the sense something was going on with the sugary kids.

Vanellope, obviously the leader of whatever was going on, was whispering quietly to the others and was gesturing towards the different sides of the pool.

It wasn't like Vanellope to whisper so quietly, let alone for so long, Ralph knew. He decided to ignore it, though, and went back to reading.

But after a few minutes, he briefly caught eye of Vanellope climbing out of the pool and helping her three other friends from Suar Rush to do so as well. She then started to hand out the watershooters she was holding to the others, giggling as she did so.

 _Those little cavities are up to something,_ the wreckor thought to himself as he eyed them suspiciously.The kids kept looking directly at him and giggling as they quickly zipped around to the different sides of the pool.

 _Man,_ _kids can be SO weird_ _sometimes,_ Ralph thought with an eye roll.

But when Vanellope innocently looked over at him and waved, Ralph couldn't help but smile in return. He put his book down to waved back at her, causing her to giggle for some reason.

Ralph didn't notice, though. He just smiled fondly at her as she glitched over to where Rancis was to help him get his water shooter ready, then as she glitched back to her other friends to help them.

"Vanellope really is a good kid," the wreckor said softly to himself, resting his large chin in his larger hand.

 _You're just the bad guy who wrecks the building! _

Ralph blinked fast.

Then shoke his head, trying to clear it of the sudden and unwelcomed comment that surfaced in his mind out of nowhere. He went back to fondly watching Vanellope and her friends busily zip around the pool.

 _Only good guys win metals, and you, sir, are no good guy! _Gene's voice rang out in Ralph's mind once more.

No. This was not happening. Not now. Not ever again.

 _You're never going to be the good guy! Ever_! But Gene's negative comments persisted in echoing in his mind.

Ralph groaned inwardly. He couldn't shut those comments out now, no matter how had he tried to.

He started to feel that familar kind of pain raising in his chest as the negative, piercing comments cut him deeply.

It is those kind of hurtful, negative comments that leads to hurtful, negative thoughts. Which, of course, leads hurtful, negative memories- memories that surfaced ever so often from the darkest corners of Ralph's mind.

Memories that hurt him, plaged him, and that folowed him around constantly. Ones that, as hard as he tried, couldn't forget easily.

 _Ralph's life had always_ _been_ _filled of unemotional routine. Days (years, actually) of just being "the bad guy who wrecks the building" and being thrown off the roof into a massive mud pit_ _was his life. Day in, day out._

 _The job itself wasn't too bad; after all, it is his natural programming to wreck things professionally, so he didn't mind it all too much._

 _But it was mostly what went on after work that lead to his unemotional, unhappy life- and that was nothing._

 _Nothing ever happened- at least, nothing that included him._

 _There was always some party going on at Felix's apartment that Ralph was never invited to. Always some sort of delicious pies Mary would make that he never got to taste. Always friends hanging out that he never got to hang out with._

 _Ralph always just merely went back his home in the dump after work, for another long evening of doing nothing._

 _Alone._ _Increbibly, entirely alone._

 _It was by his reputation that caused none to want to befriend the gentle giant. To everyone,_ _Ralph_ _was_ _just a mere bad guy who was crazy strong and had a temper to go with it._

 _And because of that simple yet sad "fact", practically everyone hated, feared and judged the man -or the job title, really- of Wreck-It Ralph._

 _The poor giant_ _had no one he'd call real_ _friends- not ones who would hang out with him after a long day of work. Ones who could do literally nothing with him, yet still have a blast just being in his company. Ones who'd invite him out for some epic game-jumping adventure. Ones who'd know who he is inside and out- and never judge him for it._

 _Ones to make happy, positive memories with him._

 _Ones who would want to make happy, positive memories with him. _

_Ralph had no such happy, positive memories, though. With anyone. His life was filled with mere misery._

 _Alive, but not living. Surrounded by people, but incredibly alone. Feared, but afraid himself. Afraid that he was unlovable, unworthy, uncared about- and was honestly made to feel that way by everyone around him._

Ralph tried to force the negative memories coming back to reside, but Gene's taunts were getting louder and sharper - and seemingly more truthful.

 _Thus_ _, angry and hurt by the action and words of everyone around him, Ralph did the one thing he seemed good at: wrecking._

 _He wrecked big things. He wrecked small things. He did wreck the building alot- purposely or accidentally, apologetically or mercilessly. _

_Ralph tried to supress that at times uncontrollable anger that fuel his wrecking; force it down, "deal with it", as he was often told to do._

 _But when that kind of anger is fueled itself by pain, there's no way to do any of that._

 _For many long years, unresolved issues plaged the man of Wreck-It Ralph. Extreme hurt stabbed him. Everyone and everything seemed against him._

 _And the giant had to "deal with it"- the pain, the rejection, the judgements, the absolute anger he felt- all alone, day in and out, for years on end._

 _It was_ _alot for even the strongest of game characters to bear_.

 _After "dealing with it" for so long- 30 years, to be exact- Ralph was done, sick of the pain, the anger, the rejection._

 _So, t_ _rying to escape all the pain,_ _he ran off. Game jumped._

 _Went "Turbo"._

 _Whatever others want to call it, he did it._

 _Sure, he left to prove that he could get a good guy medal. To prove he did deserve recognition. To prove to everyone -especially Gene- that he could be an actual good guy if he wanted to._

 _To prove that he did deserved to be on top of that stupid cake._

 _But maybe he was subconsciously looking for something else. To gain something else._

 _Something more important than cake and mentals and recognition. Something that could save him from his life of misery permanently_ _and help him heal from the years upon years of mistreatment and pain._

 _Something, anything, really, to make those cherished memories he so longed to make himself feel loved, worthy and cared about._...

 _But then, a certain_ _little glitch entered his life_ _instead._

Ralph suddenly found his chest aching less; Gene's harsh comments that had been echoing so loudly inside him, start to weaken a little.

All at the thought that little glich, Vanellope von Schweetz.

He quickly filled his mind with the time in his life when the little girl had entered into it.

And when she was the only one really in it.

 _A few mintues after meeting her,_ _Ralph decided quickly that Vanellope was one interesting kid- if he could even call her_ _that_. _He could easily tell many things about her- like that she was annoying, rude, somewhat bratty and incredibly obnoxious- from the get-go. Afterwards, he quickly found her to also be extremely childish, sassy, and greedy, with a razor-like smart mouth to go with it_ _all._

 _But after reluctantly helping her build that kart and "teaching" her to drive in what she called her home, Ralph saw sides of her -and of her life- that he was honestly shocked to see._

 _Vanellope had been forced to live in practically deplorable conditions and surrounded by garage- just like him._

 _She was feared because of her glitching, as Ralph was because of his wrecking._

 _She had been hated, pushed around, treated like the garage she lived in, just as Ralph had been._

 _But_ _when he started to examine this kid's life, Ralph realized that it,_ _surprisingly,_ _somehow made his life seem less brutal_.

 _Ralph was treated the way he was by mere poor judgment from others; hers was because it was at the order of the king of her game_ _, King Candy. Ralph could do what he was programmed to do in his game while the arcade was opened; Vanellope was treated so unfairly she couldn't even race freely like the other Sugar Rush characters could at any time. Ralph could always leave his game at anytime to get a break from his tormentors; the poor child couldn't even escape all the torment by leaving her game because of being a glitch._

 _And then_ _Ralph_ _realized quickly this poor kid- and that was that_ she _was way more than she appeared._

 _Thus poor child was_ _hurt, afraid, a reject- and dealing with it all alone._

 _Just like Ralph._

 _But the little glitch wasn't a mini- Ralph in all ways._

 _Unlike him, Vanellope stayed postive and dreamed. And dreamed big, as children often do._

 _She dreamed of a better life, where she could race freely... despite her tyrant ruler and his laws hanging over her._

 _She dreamed to feel the feeling of the sugary wind of Sugar Rush whipping through her hair... despite her uncontrollable glitching._

 _She dreamed to have the feeling of actally crossing the finish line.. despite not even knowing how to drive a real kart._

 _None of her limitations matter_ _to her. They were all just roadblocks made to be crashed through._

 _Maybe it was all becomes it was in her programmed code to race. Or because she knew she'd be a great racer if given a chance. Whatever the case, Vanellope dreamed- and did all she could to make her dream a reality._

 _She was not giving up until those dreams came true for her_.

 _Ralph, becoming so focused on her troubles (and dreams), found himself forgetting his own._

 _He felt her pain, which was all too similar to his own. He greatly sympathized with her, pitied her as well._

 _Yet, more than anything, Ralph admired the child._

 _The little girl for having the guts and strength to do what he could never do: stand up and fight back for the right to have dreams_ _, and achieve them no matter what the cost._

 _So Ralph quickly decided he was willing to do just about anything to help Vanellope get her dreams._

 _He had to fight for her, he had protect her, he even had to be willing to die for her._

 _And in doing all that, he ended up saving her life and all the lives in the game of Sugar Rush._

Ralph's chest started to slowly aching less and less as a funny feeling started to replace it.

 _A_ _fter_ _the reset of Sugar Rush, everyone thoughout the arcade quickly heard the exciting details on all Ralph had done- how he befriended the hated glitch in Sugar Rush and helped her build a kart so she could race. How he fearlessly fought off the Cy -Bugs to save the sugary game. How he had killed King Candy/Turbo, almost dying himself trying to save Vanellope_ _, and a larger extent, the whole arcade._

 _This -along with Vanellope's glowing appreciation for the wreckor, Felix' now close, sibling-like friendship with the bad guy, and Calhoun's mere acceptance of the man- shocked the whole arcade._

 _Who knew this mere wreckor could have such a postive effect on others or actually help someone else?_

 _Who knew a bad guy could do so much good?_

 _Everyone- the NiceLanders, especially- finally began to see Ralph in a completely different_ _light. He was so much more the the "bad guy who wrecks the building"._

 _He was now finally seen as what he truly was: a good bad guy with a huge heart._

 _From that point on, th_ _ings just got better for Ralph. The NiceLanders- including Gene- apologized for their mistreatment of him all those years, healing Ralph greatly from all the pain. Then they - and Felix - strive to make it up to him by now inviting him to all parties (and by letting him be on a new, bigger, non- chocolate cake)._

 _Every one of his new found friends genuinely enjoyed Ralph's company- as Ralph did with them._

 _This all lead to other, more personal benefits for Ralph as well._

 _He finally accepted_ _himself , regardless of what anyone else thought or said of him. __He found he was angry less, hardly wrecking anything besides the building- and only when it was his job to do so. His issuses seemed less painful, his hurt less hurtful- now that he actually had people who were on his side._ _He even found he was more optimistic about his life, able to more easliy take it "one game at a time._ "

 _Yes, life for Ralph was finally how it should've been- happy and filled with good memories, never being alone again._

Gene's voice had become a mere whisper now as Ralph felt himself starting to smile again.

He watched Vanellope glitched around happily and freely, looking even smaller and cuter than she already did with her floaties on.

 _Yet, Ralph knew none_ _of those other friendships, benefits and memories -great as they were for him- ever even came close to the ones that Wreck-It Ralph had form with Vanellope von Schweetz._

 _And none ever would._

 _M_ _a_ _ybe it was because he knew his life would've never had changed had he not met Vanellope, or if he had not helped her reached her dreams. Or maybe it was because she was the only friend that honestly accepted Ralph back when he was just a mere rejected bad guy._

 _Whatever the reason, the fact is that Ralph could never or would ever be closer to anyone more than he is with Vanellope._

 _She is the one who was his first real friend- she hung out with him the most after work. The first one who he did the most nothing with- but loved every second of it with him because he was with her best friend. The first one who'd always beg Ralph to take her on some crazy adventure. The first one who really looked past his rough exterior and saw his gentle center- and who'd defend him to the death of her._

 _Vanellope_ _is th_ _e one that he made the most of his new, positive memories with_ _as his best friend._

 _And now he wanted to capture and treasure all those precious memories of his best friend that he could- and did so by taking mental photos of the kid._

Ralph's heart was now almost completely free of all previous pain as Gene's voice was becoming a mere background noise.

He watched somewhat blindly and dazed as Vanellope slyly approached him from the other side of the pool...and as the more good, positive memories of the kid began to settle in.

 _He had loads of old treasued mental pictures of her, ones that he didn't even realized he had taken, but ones he'd treasure and remember forever._

 _The one when Vanellope had the look of pure excitement on her face when he had helped her build that first kart, knowing she was one step closer to get her dream._

 _The one with the look on her face when he had told her he believed in her and that she was an adorable winner when she question if others would like her, strengthening her dream even more._

 _The one where she had a look of appreciation on her face as they bid their farewells after meeting_ , _her dream finally met._

 _Ralph also had plenty of newer, cherish mental photos as well, too though._

 _The one of her look of sheer amazement as she stepped out of her game and into Game Central Station for the first time._

 _The one where she had look of appreciation in her large hazel eyes when he gave her the necklace that she still treasured so much._

 _The one of her eating her first cherry from Pac-Man -that was one of Ralph's favorites_.

 _Even the seemingly small things - Vanellope claiming she was "bored " and begged Ralph to take her on some crazy adventure; her getting excited over the littlest things in life, squealing with absolute delight; her wanting to explore and build up a whole new dream with him by her side- were all mental picture worthy for Ralph_. _And all safely mentally stored in his memory._

 _They were the true memories that made Ralph have the overall feeling of being loved, worthy and cared about._

 _The ones that reasurred him that he'd never be alone again._

 _The ones that made him feel alive, accepted, at peace- and that reminded him he had no reason to afraid_.

 _The ones that lead to him having the_ _happinest_ _moments of his life that he now lived for_ -

SPLASH!!

Ralph's face was squirted with a ton of water suddenly, courtesy of Vanellope herself.

He had been too busy thinking to even noticed she now was standing in front of him - or that she had a water shooter hiding behind her back.

"Yes! I got you _good!_ " Vanellope busted a gut laughing as she resting the water gun by her side, looking disturbingly like Calhoun with a Cy-Bug blaster.

The poor man -and his book- were just now completely covered with the cold water as Ralph sat open-mouthed and completely silent for a moment.

" _Vanellope!_ You got me drenched!" He growled after a few seconds.

The Princess-turned-President just smiled triumphantly at him.

"Well, that's what ya get for not getting your own butt wet in the first place!" She smirked devilishly.

"So, what'cha gonna do about it, huh?" the child pushed with a mischievous grin, her eyes sparkling bright and hopeful.

Ralph shook his poor book free from the excess dripping and glared at her. But he knew there was no point in getting angry at her.

He should've known she'd do this to him sooner or later. It was all in good fun, not with any malicious intent. And who could possibly stay mad at a face like that, anyways?

His sour look became a smirked that mirrored Vaneollpe.

"Oh, it's _so_ on, kid!" He bolted up and started chasing a squealing Vanellope, who was happy the first part of her plan had work.

Ralph just laughed and smiled freely now with her, all traces of saddnees and pain before in his chest was gone.

All because he knew. He knew by that funny feeling of happiness mixed with love rising in his chest.

He knew by the fact he had just snapped another mental photo of the world's feistiest little dreamer as she squirted him again.

He knew how he could no longer hear Gene's voice, causing the negative thoughts and memories quickly to fade back into the dark corner in his mind where they belonged.

Ralph knew by it all that he was about to make a whole new mental photo album of his dreaming best friend as they raced off to the pool together.


	4. Chapter 4:Water Fights- part 1

**Chapter Four: Smirks, WaterFights and HotDogs-** **Part** **1**

 **(Okay, enough feels- for now ;) This and the next chapter focuses on a water fight (and many physical fights) Vanellope starts. I had to break up the two chapters because of length (I keep having to do that lol) Let's get on with the water fight! :D)**

 **(Side note: Since I'm not much into even the most basic video games, I may have made some well-known game characters do or say things differently from what they actually do or say lol** **I tried to do my research on them, but couldn't find much. So if a normally nonverbal character is speaking in this chapter and the next, just go with my stupidity please lol.)**

Ralph chased the Sugar Rush children around for a minute before they all but surrendered by hiddening. Candlehead hid behind a beach chair and Taffeta and Rancis both retreated under a table.

All except for Vanellope. She'd never surrender- and Ralph knew it, too. So he switched to chasing the little glitch around, much to her absolute delight.

After a few minutes of the two friends running around, Ralph finally capturing Vanellope as his prize.

"You are getting what you deserve, ya little cavity!" Ralph told her as he carried her fire-fighter style over to a side of the pool.

He got his pay back by gently tossed her into the water. She landed in the crystal clear water with a small _plob_.

"Hey!" the little wet glitch protested after a few seconds as she popped her head from under the water. "That's not fair! I can't just throw _you_ in the pool like that!"

Ralph smirked triumphantly at her from the safety of the pool side.

"Yeah, 'cause you know it'd be the last thing you'd ever do," he confirmed.

"No, it 'cause you're too _fat,_ Fart Brain!" Vanellope corrected him as she swam over to where he stood by one of the pool's side.

Ralph laughed good heartedly and placed his hands on his hips with an eye roll.

"Okay, fine. You got me there." He then threw her a very pointed look as he knelt down closer to her level. "So now that you're _finally_ happy, you little brat, I'm gonna go back to reading what's actually _left_ of my poor, water-soaked book... in _peace._ Understood?

Vanellope said nothing in reply as Ralph stood back up and started to walk away.

But as he turn, he did notice it.

Well, he should've _took_ notice of it. It was clear by it that she was about to get the _second_ part her revenge.

Vanellope had smirked.

That classic smirked that she had mastered down to a tee. A smirked that was often the first sign of the trouble she was planning. Ralph always had taken notice of this particular type of smirked of Vanellope's, knowing something somewhat crazy was about to happen- especially to him.

But this time, Ralph chose to ignore the smirk and all it entailed. Because Vanellope couldn't be planning anything _worse_ than her previous plan of squirting him in the face with water...right?

The villan just about back to his beach chair without a hitch when...

"READY!..." Vanellope called out loudly suddenly from her place inside the pool. Taffeta, Rancis and Candlehead jumped out of their hiding places on the dry ground... water shooters in hand, causing Ralph to freeze.

"...AIM!..." Vanellope called out, prompting the racers to raise their water runs...right at Ralph's face.

 _Oh,_ _Sweet_ _Programmers,_ _I_ _should've_ _paid_ _more_ _attention_ _to_ _that_ _smirk,_ Ralph thought distraughtly.

"...FIRE!!!" Vanellope screamed at the top of her lungs from the safety of the pool.

A mere half second later, Ralph was bombarded yet again with ton of water to the face, only this time it was courtesy of Vanellope's friends and many water shooters instead of just one.

The water was overwhelming to Ralph, soaking him straight to his core. The poor man tried in vain to block the water from his face and especially his eyes. He was quickly running out of dry ground as he continued to back up and was getting more and more dangerously close to the edge of the pool.

The Suar Rush racers continued to squirt him as Vanellope cheered them on, laughing wickedly as Ralph cried for the children to stop.

Seconds later, the wreckor found himself dangling at the very of the edge pool side. He swung his arms around frantically and awkwardly, trying to maintain his decreasing balance.

"TIMMBER!" Vanellope screeched as she quickly got out of the way of Ralph, who was starting to fall into the pool.

Ralph landed with a large _SPLASH,_ causing the water to form huge waves and surges all around him on impact. The characters in the pool were forced to grip their water rafts and floatation devices for dear life as the massive water surges floated them up and down dramatically.

After the water had settled back down after a few moments, Ralph slowly stood up in the water and sheepishly looked around at the bewilderment written on practically everyone's faces.

Some were also clearly angry at the wreckor, thinking he purposely caused the large wave.

Before Ralph could apologize and let everyone know the wave was just an accident, though, Vanellope started cheering out of nowhere.

She personally thought that wave and the surges it created were the most fun she'd had all day, loving the way it carried her up, down and across the pool.

"Wow! Nice wave, Ralph! That was _awesome_!" the little glitch gawked.

The wreckor was shocked to hear most voice their agreement with her. Even the poor characters who had also been caught in the middle of the wave had to admit that it was pretty impressive.

Vanellope eyed the other characters all around her, who were going back to what they had been doing previously before the wave interruption. They were all being , in a child's mind, boring: either relaxing by the pool, by the snack bar or in the now calm pool.

She wanted -and needed- something to happen to jazz things up a bit, make it a little more exciting.

Something like another big wave.

The smart child noticed some of the bigger game characters were there at the pool. In fact, some characters were that that were just as big as _Ralph_ was.

 _Man,_ she thought, _I bet some of them could cause big waves too._

Then, just like that, another smirk appeared on her face at the thought of another ingenious idea popping into her head.

"I wonder if any one _else_ could make that epic of a splash.." wondered outloud loudly, smiling mischievously at Ralph.

When no one volunteered, her eyes fell on Bowser, the villan from the arcade game Mario Kart. He looked more like a sunbathing turtle than the dangerous fire-breathing dragon he was while relaxing by the pool side.

 _He'll do,_ Vanellope smirked happily

"Hey Bowser!" she quickly called out loudly to the other villan. "Did you see the size of that massive splash Ralph just made?! Pretty epic, right?"

The Mario villan eyed the sugary kid and snorted in reply.

"Oh, come _on._ It wasn't that cool," the dragon shrugged it off. "I can make bigger waves than that."

"Then why _don't_ you?" Vanellope pushed him in response.

Ralph gulped. He could tell by her face- that devilish little smirk plastered on it again- that Vanellope had some sort of new, crazy plan- and was trying to get one of the strongest characters in the entire arcade in the middle of it somehow.

But the wreckor was put at ease when Bowser just rolled his eyes at the mischievous kid, not at all entertaining her taunt.

"'Cause I don't have to _prove_ anything," the large dragon told her calmly as he went back relaxing.

Vanellope, obviously disappointed by his response, snapped her fingers in defeat.

"Darn it, it almost work..." she murmured to herself. She looked around to see who else she could recruit.

Ralph narrowed his eyes at her. He could see where she was obviously trying to get this to lead- and needed to stop it. Now.

He made the mistake of trying to do so by speaking with her.

"Ok listen, kid," he sighed softly, grabbing Vanellope's attention for a moment. "You were right; I should've got in the pool earlier, ok? But now I'm in the pool already, so-"

Vanellope gasped suddenly, acting like she heard something horrible.

"What?" she gawked loudly. "Now Ralph, that's _not_ a nice thing to say!"

Ralph looked at her confused. "What? I didn't say anything mean-"

"Yes, you did!" Vanellope interrupted, once again loudly for all to hear. "You just said you don't think _Bowser_ can beat your splash. I don't know...he looks pretty strong to me. Not like a wimp... like _you_ just said he was."

Ralph's eyed widened in pure disbelief.

He didn't know Bowser too well, but what he _did_ know was that the fellow villan _did not_ like to be outshined in any way, let alone being "called" a wimp.

Bowser's attention grabbed, he growled at his fellow villan and stood up quickly from his large beach chair.

"What?! I'm no _wimp,_ Wreck-It Ralph!" he roared, "I could crush you anyday!" He narrowed his eyes at the stunned wreckor. "And I can make a wave ten TIMES as big as your _wimpy_ one, Ralph! Watch me!"

Before Ralph could stutter out any reply, the dragon quickly got over to the opposite side of the pool where Ralph and Vanellope were and hopped on in. Seconds later, with one swift movement of his tail, Bowser caused a huge, tidal-like wave to come crashing into everyone in its' path.

The poor characters caught in the middle, who had just finally completely recovered from the wild ride Ralph's splash had created, gripped their floaties once more as they floated up and back down again and across the pool with now Bowser's epic wave.

And once again, Vanellope laughed and cheered, loving yet another wild water ride.

"Wow, Bowser! That was pretty epic!" She commented, as well as the other spectators who were starting to gather more and more.

Vanellope slyly eyed Candlehead, still on dry ground.

"What did ya think, Candlehead? You think _some_ _one_ can beat that wave?" She tried to nod inconspicuously at Ralph, hoping Candlehead would catch a hint.

"Huh?...Oh, ohhhh, I don't know, Vaneollpe," Candlehead called slowly over to her, catching on. "It was pretty big; I doubt _Ralph_ can splash that big!" Vaneollpe smiled approvingly at her.

"Wait, what?" A character named Zangief called out of nowhere from his side of the pool. "Ralph is stronger than Bowser, cause WAY more powerful waves than Bowser. Am I right?"

"Yes, Ralph strong, very strong. Wreck building. Bowser no do that, URG!" Zombie, stretched out on a tanning chair, chimed out in agreement.

"Uh, no duh!" Sonic the hedgehog rolled his eyes from his spot a the snack bar. " _Of course_ Bowser can't wreck a building! He's made to be the awesome fire-breathing dragon he is!" A couple of other characters cheered, ones close by slapping the large reptile good-heartedly on the back in approval.

"Oh, come _on!"_ Kohut from Hero's Duty called out in annoyance from his table where he was enjoying the company of fellow solders. "Would _Bowser_ ever be brave enough to go into Hero's Duty, climb to the very top of the montain to obtain a hero's medal, get attack by Cy-Bugs, and fight them off fearlessly?!" His buddies nodded in solemn agreement.

"No, because Bowser isn't _stupid_ enough to do any of that in the first place," Princess Peach called out on the opposite side, obviously angering the Hero's Duty soldiers.

Before they could reject, M.Bison tried to settle the issue.

"Ok, enough, before this argument gets out of hand," he called out. "Let's all just accept the fact that Bowser is way stronger than Wreck-It Ralph is, ok?"

Mario, Donkey Kong, and a couple of other classic video game characters close by to nod in agreement.

"No, Wreck-It Ralph is!" Kohut screeched, his fellow game members growling.

"No, ah- _Bowser_ is!" Mario called back, _his_ fellow game members growling as well.

A much heated debate quickly ensued: some clearly on Bowser's side, thinking he was way stronger than Ralph; others, on Ralph's "side", claiming he was the most strong. Everyone kept screaming out his/her opinion, causing Ralph to cover his ears.

The somewhat childish fight quickly turned physical when Zombie chucked his ax (and whole right arm) across the snack bar at Sonic, who responded by racing at super sonic speed around to the other side of pool to confront the dead man. His speeding by made many characters to fall into the water, like Q*bert, who cursed in Q*bert-ese at having gotten wet. Donkey Kong and Junior also fell in, causing both to go ape-wild and start throwing water toys everywhere. One water toy strayed and hit Mario, who was quick to blame Tappers for it. Then Mario, with the help of Luigi, tried to unfaily strangle the root beer bar character.

Upon hearing of all the commotion, Surge Protector showed up quickly, along with Duncan and Wynnchel from Sugar Rush, to break up the dispute.

Together, the donut cops and the electronical gaming guard tackles the two Italian racers off the poor bartender. The two makeshift cops began to argue on who had the rights to arrest Mario and Luigi soon after. Meanwhile, Surge just arrested them both himself.

When Donkey Kong tried to hurl a beach chair at the Hero Duty's soldiers, Surge Protector decided this all was getting way out of hand and pulled out his megaphone.

"EVERY ONE CALM DOWN! NOW! OR I'LL BE GETTING MORE HANDCUFFS!" He screeched loudly and threateningly.

Vanellope's eyes widened from her place in the pool.

Sge never meant for all _this_ to happen, at all.But...

This...was...AWESOME! Now _this_ was excitement!

However, Ralph was purely horrified. After Donkey Kong went through with throwing the beach chair despite Surge's threat of being taken in custody, the wreckor decided enough was enough.

"Ok, ok, everyone, listen up!" he called out loudly, trying to get everyone's attention as he cupped his large hands around his mouth. But his voice was drowned out by all the arguing and fighting.

Ralph snatched Surge's megaphone and repeated what he had said loudly.

"HEY! EVERY ONE PLEASE LISTEN TO ME!"

Everyone stopped yelling, screaming, wrestling, chucking ax/arms/beach chairs, or arresting people to look at the wreckor.

Sighing, Ralph continued to speak into the megaphone.

"The wave I caused by my splash was _accidental_ , guys," he told the group calmly. "I _fell_ in the pool, causing the splash."

He eyed Vanellope again, who was looking around wide eyed and basking in the glory at the chaos she'd caused.

 _"Right,_ Vanellope?" he glared at her.

When she didn't respond, he nudged the megaphone in her direction.

The young glitch looked up him and sighed, seeing the anger in his eyes.

"Yes, your fat butt _fell_ in the pool," she mumbled in the megaphone for all to hear.

Everyone stood in silence before Bowser finally spoke up.

"Wait a minute... So, you _didn't_ mean to cause that wave, Ralph?" he asked slowly.

"No, of couse not!" The wreckor replied ridiculously loud into the megaphone, causing all to cringe. He quickly handed the megaphone back to Surge, eyeing him apologetically.

"I didn't even mean to cause the _splash,_ let alone to make some sort of crazy competition out of it!" he said in a normal voice.

Everyone remained silent for a moment before Princess Peach broke it.

"Then why did you call Bowser a wimp and say that he couldn't splash as good as you?" she asked suspiciously.

Ralph narrowed his eyes down at Vanellope, then turned his attention back to the princess of Mario Kart.

"I didn't. Vanellope lied about that." He look across at Bowser. "I never say you were a wimp or that you couldn't make a "epic" splash, Bowser. Vanellope made that all up." Eyeing the glitch once more, he added: _"Right,_ Vanellope? "

Vanellope, noticing his now strong glare being shot her way, decided it'd be best to confess.

"Yes, _that_ part was lie." In trying to keep her plan afloat, she added under her breath: "But I was _not_ lying about how that was one epic splash that you caused, Ralph." A couple giggled and agreed with her as she smirked up at Ralph.

"Still not as epic as Bowser's wave!" Sonic declared, with a few others agreeing with him once more in Bowser's defense.

 _"For_ _the_ _last time,_ _I didn't_ _mean_ _to cause_ _the splash or wave_ Ralph exclaimed in frustration before the fight got a chance to continue. Sighing exasperatedly, he continued to clear up the supposed comment forward his fellow villan.

"Listen, Bowser. We're _both_ strong characters, but yes, _your_ wave was indeed the best, ok? Happy?" he settled.

Before the Mario villan could respond, Ralph looked around at all his fellow arcade gaming characters.

"Now, can we all _please_ go back to what were doing before I fell in this stupid pool?!" He begged them all.

Everyone who at one time been screaming out who they thought the strongest were now stunned (and honestly, a little sadden and disappointed) by the sudden turn of events. All had kind of _enjoyed_ the debate, happy at the excitement it presented. Even _Surge_ liked the excitement of it, versus going back to the boring job he had been doing before of guarding the gates at the entrance of the pool.

They all eyed each other, but then started back into whatever they were doing before, now keeping their strong opinions to themselves.

Zombie grabbed his arm and ax and carried on in trying to get his tan. Donkey Kong and Junior went back over to the snack bar to get more bananas. Bowser quietly hoped out of the pool and went back to relaxing by the pool side. Surge released Mario and Luigi, on the basis they'd leave Tapper alone for the rest of the day.

All became quiet and somewhat boring again as it had been before everything started.

Vanellope felt her shoulders slump at the now once again boring scene.

 _That_ _could've_ _been_ _one epic_ _splash_ - _off between_ _those two,_ she thought sadly to herself, _which would've been totally awesome for the rest of us!_

But her brilliant plan was over now, along with all the fun it would've lead to. On top of that, she could tell by the glare from Ralph she was getting that she'd be _toast_ after he got done getting on to her.

She knew she kinda deserved it and all, but it was _totally_ worth all the pure chaos it caused.

Ralph was about to get out of the pool and fish Vanellope out to reprimand her when Dr.Eggman and Amy Hedgehog walked beside them on the dry ground. The two had been surprising quiet during the debate, but now voice their opinions to each other.

"Man," the mad-evil science wondered out loud to the pink hedgehog, "If Ralph caused that big of a wave on _accident,_ I can't even imagine what kind of wave he could've cause on _purpose._ It would've been pretty cool." Amy nodded sadly as the two kept walking by.

Vaneollpe immediately perked up.

 _Wait,_ she thought to herself, _people_ _actually_ _wanted_ _to see_ _how the_ _water_ _fight_ _would've_ _ended?!_

She felt herself start to smirk again, only this time with hope.

Maybe, just _maybe_ her new plan could be saved after all.

 **(Part 2 is coming soon! :) )**


	5. Chapter 5:WaterFights- Part 2

**Chapter Five: Smirks, Water Fights and HotDogs- Part 2**

 **(Sooo...Had to split up this and the next chapter lol, thus there will be part 3 of this part of the story :3 Part 2 gets kinda more into the feels by Vanellope's intense fears and how much Ralph means to _her_ , but does so by an argument between the two. Not many pool scenes in this chapter, but the next (which will be the last part of this part of the story, I promise lol) is more happy and contains more pool scenes. Enjoy! :) )**

 **(@Gwen Meninford: Thank you! I appreciate that :D )**

Vanellope felt excitement bubble once again inside her as she started to think out her new plan.

It was perfect- in her mind at least. Now all she needed was to convince Ralph to go along with it.

She looked around for him, to see he had gotten out of the pool. He had approached Surge to sheepishly explain the cause of all the craziness. Surge just shrugged it all off as Ralph apologized and walked away, although it was obvious that the surge protector was going to keep an eye on the two Italian brothers for the rest of the day.

"Hey Ralph!" Vanellope squealed quickly as the wreckor approached the pool once again. "I have another idea! What if-"

"Oh, what was that, Vanellope? I couldn't hear you- OR your apology," Ralph mocked as he scoop her out the pool, his voice unusually sharp.

Vanellope cocked her head to look up at him. "I-I wasn't apolo-"

"Oh, you were just planning on causing mass havoc? Of _course_ you were," he interrupted her with a hiss and an stinging eye roll.

Vanellope looked at him to see the rage growing in his usually soft, kind eyes...

And instantly, a familiar hole in her stomach was starting to develop as her best friend continued to carry her over to their beach chairs.

Ralph set her down gently in front of him and narrowed his eyes at her as he sat down on his chair.

"I'm giving you one chance, kid," he growled low and sharp, _"One_ chance to explain yourself and apologize for your clearly immature actions."

Vanellope ignored the unusual feeling of strain that was growing between them and rolled her eyes up at him.

"Come on, Stink Brain," she told him, her vocie and tone casual. "It's not that big of a deal-"

 _"'Not that big of a deal'?!"_ Ralph interrupted her again, sounding exasperated as he snatched up his towel to dry off. "You almost got me _arrested_ , Vanellope! _And_ killed by Bowser!"

"Oh, come on, Ralph! Surge would've have arrested ya!" She told him quickly. "He didn't even know you were really involved in the whole thing."

Vanellope then shrugged his concern off as she glanced back towards the pool. "Besides, Bowser looked like he was having fun to me."

"Oh, yeah, I'm sure Surge had _no_ idea I was involved _at all_ ," he spat sarcastically, slapping his large hand on his face. "Especially not with _half of the people here screaming out my name!_ And yes, Bowser was having fun- especially when I "called" him a wimp," he growled at her.

"Thanks for lying about all that, by the way; that was real nice," Ralph then added as he dried the back of his neck roughly out of frustration.

"Yeesh, Ralph, " Vanellope countered cautiously, shaking the uneasiness settling in her.

She expected to be in trouble, but all this?

"I was kidding around," she mumbled softly. "You really can't take a joke, can ya?"

"Oh, I can take jokes just fine, " Ralph told her flatly. "It's _all the trouble that always seems to go with it_ I can't deal with."

Vanellope glared at him defensively.

"Well, it's not _my fault_ your fat butt fell in the pool in the first place, Fart Face!" She snatched her towel and wrapped it around herself.

"Uh, actually _it is,_ " he rolled his eyes. "I lost my balance and fell in because your little bratty friends squirted me...at _your_ command," he glared fiercely at her.

Vanellope shifted, uncomfortable by the sudden thickness growing between them.

She was quickly startung to realize that maybe Ralph wasn't just joking around, merely pretending he was angry with her like he almost always did.

His face was clearly the most serious she had ever seen it- and most angry, too. His voice was the sharpest she had ever heard it. His eyes _themselves_ were clearly filled with clear, serious anger.

Maybe this time, Ralph _was_ truly angry with her.

"Oh, come _ on_, Stink Brain!" Vanellope whined, trying to ease his obvious anger and annoyance with her- along with the slight growing fear inside her. "You're way over-reacting. Everything is ok!"

"No, everything is _no_ _t_ ok!" Ralph hissed at her as he turned his attention to drying off his large hands.

Vanellope, even in the heat of the situation, couldn't control herself. Without thinking, she rolled her eyes and mocked him.

" _No, everything is not ok!"_ she flipped her head from side to side, her lips cocked up to one side in pure spite and anger.

Ralph stopped rubbing his hands dry and flipped his head up to look at her dead in the eye, sighing long and slow.

"Vanellope...von... _Schweetz_ ," he then growled in a warning voice as he raised an eye brow at her.

Any doubt Vanellope had had on whether Ralph was truly serious or not was immediately answered at that moment.

Ralph, her very best friend, rarely _ever_ called her by her actual name in their conversation- it was usually just random insults all the way.

But, in the time she had known him, Ralph had _never_ used her full name before. Not ever.

And the child then knew the second that he did that she had pushed him too far and now he was seriously angry with her.

Vanellope felt her gulp, her mouth becoming dry.

She knew she needed to fix Ralph's anger at her- and fast. Before he-

"Get your stuff, kid." Ralph suddenly commanded Vanellope flatly as he stood up and started to gather his things.

"What? W-why??" Vanellope asked anxiously, the hole inside her widening more than ever.

The tension between them was so thick you could cut it with a knife- and she was quickly _hating_ every second of it.

"Why do you think?" Ralph huffed impatiently as he started to take down the umbrellas. "We're leaving."

" _What?!"_ Vanellope squawked. "Why do we have to leave?!"

Ralph threw her a pointed look.

"Well, tet's just say I'm no longer in the mood to be around water," he then sighed defeatedly. "I need to get back and fix that dumb toilet, anyways."

He shook his head and twisted his face in disgust and disappointment as he placed his still damp book back in the bag.

"So much for my nice, relaxing day at the pool," the wreckor mumbled sadly to himself.

Vanellope felt her stomach twist into a knot, pulling itself in tighter and tighter.

She immediately regretted everything she had done.

Ralph was seriously angry with her- and she didn't like it. In fact, she _hated_ it.

She hated every ounce of it.

She hated his true anger against her solely by the way it made her feel.

It reminded her of how she used to feel in life was before the reset...

Which, ironically, wasn't anything.

 _The only thing Vanellope ever really had before the reset was that of the joy and rush she got from racing._

 _That was it._

 _It was the only thing she'd promised herself she could ever get so attached to, since it had never abandoned her, judge her, mistreat her- as everything else in her life had._

 _The poor child_ _was so used to people rejecting her, not liking her, let alone loving her. So used to others being so angry at her, so disgusted with her, so annoyed with her. So used to not having any one to trust. So used to not having any friends or family. So used to feeling broken and incomplete as a glitch. So used to..._

 _Being abandoned, by everyone around her._..

 _Vanellope_ _had gotten so used to all the mistreatment of others and her own negative feelings that she shut down; it all had made her numb._

 _Completely and utterly numb to any and all emotions, to pain, to love - to everything any person could ever give her._

 _Which she was honestly fine with._

 _Actually, she found it was better that way- to be completely numb to others and stick with the racing._

 _If she ever were to allow her emotions to get involved when it came to her dealings with other people, it would've meant the stronger her pain would be when they all would eventually abandon her in some way._

 _The less she felt in the beginning, she knew, the less she'd have to_ _endure in the long run._

 _So, unsurprisingly, w_ _hen she had met the man of Wreck-It Ralph, Vanellope had honestly expected him to treat her like everyone else had._

 _And he had, initially- but mostly because of the way she had treated him first._

 _But the more he stuck around, the more Vanellope's true self shined through, allowing him to see her as she really was - a lovable, dreaming kid that just wanted a real friend and who needed and deserved help._

 _And the man of Wreck-It Ralph quickly began treated her differently after that._

 _He treated her in a way Vanellope wasn't used to. The kindness, the gentleness, the protection he gave her felt almost unreal to the child..._

 _His close and true friendship with her that she could trust and count on, the practical, unafraid help he provided her- all new for Vanellope._ _He gave her t_ _hings that she herself had never experienced- or at least remembered experiencing._

 _Ralph_ _truly had been Vanellope's hero in every sense of the word._

 _Sure, after the reset, everyone -in her game included- began treating her kindly - and she truly appreciated that._

 _But t_ _here was something unique about how Ralph treated her. It was something special. Something so special that, although she couldn't explain it, that had made her feel an emotion for something other than racing for the first time in a long time._

 _She began to feel feelings she had forgotten she could have- happiness, true joy. Even a small hint of_ _contentment, maybe._

 _Wreck-It Ralph, her Stink Brain,_ _had completely wrecked her high walls of numbness she had built so high and had replaced it - along with the pain, the misery she so long had endured- by that of happiness, joy and contentment._

 _And the more Vanellope realized that (and that he was going to stick around for the long run), the more and more she liked it_.

 _The fact was that Vanellope really felt like she was no longer broken anymore._

 _She felt complete now that she had Ralph. In fact, she actually cared about him their friendship, and all it gave her. And she grew quickly to love it all- which was an all new emotion for her._

 _But caring and loving so much about it made her quite anxious about it as well- irrationally, most of the time._

 _She anxiously feared Ralph would suddenly stop treating her that special kind of way, causing the happiness, joy and love to stop, too._

 _The child was anxious she'd upset him, causing him to be angry with her to the point of clear resentment of her._

 _The glitch was_ _anxious that she'd lose him somehow- and it would be her fault_ , _as it had always felt like it had been with others before_.

 _She was so irrationally anxious because she couldn't bear it._..

 _Vanellope_ _ could bear with losing everything else- her title of princess (er, president), her new found respect from her game members, even her freedom to explore the wide world outside Sugar Rush- everything she had received after the reset she could live without, as she had before. If she'd ever did lose all that again, she could go back to how things were before, her numb life as it was._

 _But Vanellope couldn't bear to live without her special friendship with her hero, or all the happiness, joy and love it her._

 _If she had to, sure, she'd go back to being miserable, unhappy, numb again... but this only time, it would be far worst_...

A _ll_ _at losing the thing that now meant more to Vanellope von Schweetz than anything else did- even racing. _

_That damaged child_ _honestly_ _could not bear live without Ralph._...

 _Which she had no reason to_ _had to be truly anxious_ _that she ever_ _would have to._

Until now, Vanellope felt.

With Ralph's angry glances and clear tense body, she knew she had messed up...irreversibly possibly, even.

Anxiety was filling up quickly inside the child at an all time high as she watched her best friend as he continued to gather his things roughly.

She felt an internal war being waged inside her: that of between that anxious will to care about something, and that of the numbness wanting her to give up completely growing in her.

The will to care shoving down the numbness, Vanellope knew she could possibly fix this - and needed to do so by apologizing.

Maybe that could smooth things over- and fast. Before he decided to...

Leave her, abandon her.

Like everyone else had in her life.

 _No!_ Vanellope screamed internally. _Ralph would never do that to me!_

Would he?

"Ralph, wait!" The little girl quickly begged her large friend, shaking the horrible thought as he started to fold up his towel. Anger was still strong in his eyes as he look over at her.

She swallowed hard, forcing the lump in her throat to go down.

"I- I'm sorry. I really am. I-I didn't mean to upset you or- or ruin your day. I-I was just trying to get you to play with me," Vaneollpe finally choked out, forcing rare tears in her eyes back.

"Well, there were way better ways to accomplish that, kid," Ralph snapped, but his voice was gradually getting softer as he laid eyes on the child before him.

Vanellope winced at the sting of his words, however, still feeling them cut her deeply.

"I know. I'm sorry," she answered slowly, her mouth dry once again.

Ralph noticed the darkness in her eyes, but he couldn't help but eyed her suspiciously. He just wasn't fully convinced yet that this wasn't just some ploy of hers to get him to forgive her just so she could then beg them to stay...

He wished more than anything that he could read what the child was thinking, although it was probably best he couldn't...

He would've seen the all-out, bitter, and emotional warfare going on inside Vanellope's little mind.

"I don't blame you for wanting to leave," Ralph heard a tiny voice say suddenly. "I've been a real jerk."

He looked up- and was shocked to see the small, weak, near broken voiced belonged to Vanellope herself.

Vanellope twiddled her thumbs together, now avoiding all eye contact with Ralph so that he couldn't see her tears starting to form.

Her heart aching, the child started to slip off her floaties and placed them in their bag- the hole of numbness inside her felt like it was swallowing her whole now, slowly gaining dominance over the need to care.

Ralph shifted uncomfortable for a moment, unsure as to why she was so...miserable looking all of a sudden.

This only got worse when Vanellope sadly muttered something that ached Ralph straight to his core:

"I wouln't want to spend any time with me, either."

This caused him paused and looked at her, confused- and worried.

"Wait, Vanellope, what are you talking about?" He asked her, his voice stretch in nervousness. "I never said I didn't want to spend time with you."

"I know," she looked up at him, her eyes filled with a sharp sense of sadness, hopelessness. "I just wouldn't blame you if you _don't_ want to, though."

Her voice sounded so broken, so painful, so numb. There was no way she didn't mean what she had said- which caused Ralph to feel deep, sharp pain himself.

 _Why would she ever even think that?_ Ralph thought to himself in distress as he looked sadly down at her.

He couldn't help but now notice the empty look that now filled her usual bright filled eyes, pain seeped in where they ususally happy.

Any doubt he had on whether she _was_ serious about what she had said or not was confirmed then.

The child was hurt and seriously upset with herself...to the point where she thought Ralph didn't want her around anymore, even...

Ralph started to feel deep regret over his anger, his choice of words, feeling pain over hurting Vanellope somehow.

"Listen, kid. I'm sorry I got so upset with ya," he told her softly after a few moments, trying to clear up her pain. "I was just angry and-"

"I know. You have every right to have been." She sat down on the edge of her chair with her head in her hand. "I was wrong to do what I did, Ralph." Saddness seeped from her broken voice.

 _Why am I even trying?_ She thought to herself hopelessly. _Ralph is already mad enough...mad eniugh to..._

The hole of the numbness she had fought so hard against with her will to care had now completely swallowed her up. Her fear of him leaving her wasn't an irrational thought anymore; Ralph was madder at her than ever before and she knew he was...

Going to leave her now, abandon her now, Vanellope just knew it.

And at that sad fact, she felt it was best to prepare for that fate now- by completing shuting down and going numb.

Which she was willing to miserably comply with.

Because being numb was better than feeling the worst pain and loss in her life.

Ralph was silent for a few moments as he watched the child stand up miserably and start to gather more of her stuff, tears rolling down her cheeks in pain.

He had no idea of the pain she was feeling then, but it was clear by her face, the silent tears she cried, her voice, how everything about seemed so...broken then...that the child was in the deepest pain she had ever been in before.

And that urked Ralph to his heart to no end.

He didn't like the fact this kid was in pain. Not one bit. In fact, he _hated_ it.

And he knew he needed to fix it all- or at least wreck it all.

"Kid, come on..." he tried, but Vanellppe cut him off.

"Man, I'm such an... idiot!" Sharp pain and spite filled her broken voice as she shook her head out of frustration with herself.

Unable to find any words, Ralph was silent for a moment.

He felt guilty that he didn't immediately disagreeing with her or trying to comfort her, not knowing quite how to.

But in his silence, he got an idea.

Gently placing his massive finger under her chin, Ralph turned Vanellope's downcasted head so she'd look directly at up him.

"And?..." he asked her expectedly, softness and fondness filling his voice once again.

Vanellope eyed up at him through her tears, only to see that all anger in his eyes were gone now. A funny, familiar look were now starting to replace it as she cautiously wiped a tear away.

"And... a real numb skull," she responded slowly, half-wanting to hear his reaction as her numbness...weaken slightly.

"And...?" Ralph found himself starting to smirked playfully the little girl, his eyes lighting up softly as he could see she was getting their insude joke.

Vanellope's eyes, too, started to glow slightly again, a tiny smile appearing on her face.

"A selfish diaper baby...," she chuckled out softly, sheepishly perring up at him.

"And...?" Ralph pushed her finally as he lean closer to her face, his nose almost touching hers.

"And...a stink brain?" She looked at him with hope of forgiveness, anxiety filling up slowly inside her again as her eyes got bigger than Ralph had ever seen them.

Ralph rolled his eyes teasingly at the child and chuckled.

"The stinkest brain ever," he told her gently, smiling softly at her as he held up a fist hand for the child to fist-bump.

Vanellope felt her chest fill with air, suddenly able to breath again...because she felt it.

The happiness, the joy, the love only Ralph could give her- it all come quickly back into the picture.

His eyes were soft again, his tone gently, and they were joking around again, as they always had done.

Vanellope knew too that this was Ralph's way of saying he had forgiven her, and that, without a shadow of a doubt, he _had_ completely forgiven her.

A huge sense of relief washed over her as she found herself smiling back gratefully at him, feeling the need to care again, to love again.

No longer feeling numb, she quickly jumped into his arms for a surprise hug- and felt even better when he huged her back. She cuddled close to him, feeling more and more at ease by the second as a fresh batch of tears came flooding out of her eyes- only happy ones this time.

"I really am sorry, Ralph," she cried softly into his ear, uncharacteristically gentle as she snuggled into his neck.

"I know, kid," he reasurred her soothingly, calmness replacing his once agitated tone. "I was just frustrated, that's all."

Vanellope felt him chuckle after a moment as he patted her back gently.

"Now that I think about it, Bowser's face _was_ pretty priceless," he admitted as Vanellope chuckled softly back, calmness settling in her as well- before feeling her heart race gently on again.

"We can go home, if you really want to, Ralph," the child told her friend into his ear, being lifted up as he sighed heavily.

"Nah, kid, we can stay," Ralph, not one to hold grudges, said gently into her ear after a few moments, "provided that you don't do anything _else_ that could lead to me getting arrested or killed by a fire breathing dragon ok?" he joked softly.

Vanellope sat back into his arms and chuckled softly, rubbing her tears-stain cheek. She felt happy to feel the rare emotion of love filling her again- and to see it present again in his eyes.

"Okay, Stink Brain," she whispered to him with a smile as she leaned back forward and after putting her arms back around him, squeezed his neck a little tighter than before. "I promise I won't."

 _That_ was something Vanellope von Schweetz could happily comply with.

 **(Part _3_ on it's way ;D )**


	6. Chapter 6: WaterFights- Part 3

**Chapter Six:** **Smirks, Water Fights and HotDogs - Part 3**

 **( _This_ is the last part of this part of the story, I promise ****;) After _this_ comes another part 1/ part 2 lol so bear with me. The chapters have all become mini-stories of their own in a way and are too long to be together. Anyways, enjoy the last chapter of the water fight! :D)**

Happiness swelled in Vanellope's heart once again as she snuggled her cheek into Ralph's neck.

But as happy as she was that he had forgiven her, the child knew there was still one more thing she needed to do, as hard as it would be.

She pulled back from his warm, gentle embrace and pulled away from him to grab their bag. The liitle girl then dug through their beach tote for a few moments until she found what she was looking for- Ralph's water logged book.

"I'm sorry I soaked your book, too." Vanellope told the wreckor sheepishly, shaking the soaked book slightly. It was still kind of wet, but it was eligible at least.

"I really just meant to soak _your_ butt, not the book's," she giggled softly.

The wreckor rolled his eyes teasingly.

"Well, you accomplished both, obviously," he scoffed as he noogied her head gently.

She smiled back...but still there was a look of incompleteness in her eyes, Ralph noticed.

"Ralph, I know how hard you work...and how tired you are now," she looked at him with all sincerity, her eyes soft and filled with understanding.

She hoped off his lap and put the book in her place.

"You deserve to relax, Stink Brain," she told him. "So, I-I promise I'll leave you alone with your book so you can read in peace. For the rest of the day. No more squirting, I promise." She held her hand childishly flat up as a pledge.

Ralph was shocked. "Really?"

Vaneollpe smiled sheepishly once more.

"Yeah...I learned old farts like you need their rest and reading or else they get kinda grumpy, " she joked gently with an eye roll.

He smirked at her and gently pushed her shoulder.

"Yes, yes, we old farts do," he chuckled softly before sighing, sounding relieved. "Thanks, kid."

Ralph held out a large fist for her to knuckle bump, which she quickly returned with a small smile and a head nod before heading back off to the pool.

Settling back into his chair and opening his damp book, Ralph sighed long and loud. He was now truly content.

Vanellope was all better now, the pool area -including Bowser and Surge Protector- was quiet again. And now Ralph could get back to his book.

He eagerly began to try to find the last page he had read, somewhere in between chapters talking about when a plunger doesn't work and the need for a professional plumber's help.

But something still bothered Ralph as he flipped through the pages, somethong so strong and troubling it caused him to stop turning pages altogether.

Ralph couldn't help but notice that as she turned to head back to the pool, there was _still_ a just a slight hint of saddest and defeat in Vanellope's large, telling eyes...and there was obviously no excited skip in her step as she walked back over to the pool or as she slipped in.

Ralph quickly looked up from trying to find his page to see Vanellope floating on a large floaty in the pool.

Even though he could tell she was happy she got to stay, Ralph could tell that Vanellope was still kind of unhappy, empty for some reason. It was etched all over her usually bright and happy face.

The child said all was good now...but was it really?

The statements she had made just a few minutes were stinging statements about herself, so sharp and negative that there was no _way_ the child didn't believe them or that she didn't have, despite her bravo, such low self-esteem.

Her weak, hurt voiced and harsh words echoed in his mind.

 _I-I was just trying to get you to play with me._...

 _I don't blame you for wanting to leave...I've been a real jerk._...

 _I don't blame you for wanting for not wanting to spend time with me._.. _I wouldn't want to spend time with me, either._...

 _Man, I'm such an idiot!_

Deep, deep negative things for anyone to say about themselves, but especially a _child..._

A child that has been hurt so many times in her life..abandoned so many times in her young life.

Was just telling Vanellope she was forgiven and that they could stay at the pool good enough to heal those words, seeming so truthful to the child? Or was it just a mere band-aid on a large, slow-to-heal wound?

Ralph shook his head, trying ignoring the pit in his stomach stabbing him.

Stabbing him to _act_.

He look back at his book, desperately trying to resume finding the last page he had read.

But still Ralph's heart ached him, plauged him.

He didn't like that child feeling upset, or worst.

Abandoned, worried about how he viewed her...

In fact, he _hated_ the idea that she even thought he was ever going to abandon her.

He hated every ounce of it.

He'd do _anything_ to make her happy, to put that smile that he adored so much for some reason back on her little face- to make her, not just _think_ , but to _feel_ and _know_ she was secure with him and that he'd never leave her...

And that required action on his part. Bug time.

Ralph sighed, looking back up at Vanellope.

He knew what he needed to do...even if it'd mean he'd have to stop doing what he _really_ wanted to do to do so.

He looked at his water-soaked book longingly, but then sighed acceptingly.

 _There's no way I'd be able to concentrate enough to read being so concerned about Vanellope, anyways,_ he reasoned with himself. _Being there for that kid must always come first..._

No matter how much trouble it personally got the wreckor into...

So much for Ralph's nice, relaxing day at the pool.

Vanellope had just started to nonchalantly tag Rancis in their boring, empty game of water tag when...

"Hey, Bowser!" Ralph called out loudly suddenly, breaking the calmness in the air that hung over the pool.

Everyone turned to eye the wreckor, now approaching the edge of the pool once again.

Vanellope looked up, too- and saw that Ralph was smirking mischievously.

Bowser blinked over blankly at him for a moment, before looking... intrigued, maybe?

"Uh, yeah?" the dragon asked the wreckor, voice unsure of the fellow villain's motive.

"Can I point something out to ya?" Ralph asked Bowser across the pool, causing all to lean forward slightly.

"Sure?" The large reptile replied.

"The waves I made earlier were caused by an accidental splash, right?" Ralph asked him.

"Yeah, you made that clear earlier, dude," Kohut couldn't help but call out, sounding annoyed yet... anxiously excited?

"Well, technically speaking, then, uh..." Ralph began, clearly not entirely sure where he was going to go with this.

But if there was anything he'd learn from Vanellope, it was to just make a plan up as you go along and go with it, hoping it work out.

"The wave created from my accidental splash earlier, then...uh, wasn't a _vaild_ wave...for you to compare your wave to, then," Ralph began slowly, catching an idea. "Since, you know, my wave wasn't really actually _planned._ "

"Ok.. so?" Bowser asked expectedly.

"So, uh, then that means _your_ splash _wasn't_ the most epic, since mine wasn't even vaild."

"Get to the point, Wreck it!" Sonic called with a look of...hopefulness, perhaps?

"Point is, if that "epic" splash of yours is going to be vaild, _I_ get to have a re-do...of making the biggest wave, I mean." Ralph concluded. "Then all can judge if your wave can _fairly_ out-match it," he instructed as he gestured to everyone around him, showing they all were included.

But what Ralph was about to say next, he knew, could lead to loads of fun or could lead to him into getting the worst wrecking of his life.

But the brave man knew he had to. For Vanellope's sake.

Raising an eye brow, the wreckor smirked as daringly as he could.

"That is if you _want_ me to re-do my wave purposely even, of course," he said around the lumping forming in throat. "Since, you know, you're a _wimp_ and all, Broswer..."

Everyone gasped. Bowser blinked in disbelief at the wreckor. Even _Vanellope_ , for once, was completely speechless.

Ralph just hoped in the pool gently, forcing his confidence to soar.

"You really thought I'd let you beat me and out-splash me, Bowser? Think again."

With that, the wreckor stretched his large arms and hands as far as they would go in the pool, pushed with all his might and...SPLASH! A large, epic-sized wave was created, carrying everyone, including Vanellope, on his side of the pool clear down to the other end. Little ripples were still seen even a few minutes of it subsiding.

Everyone oohed and awed over the powerful wave.

"Woah!" Zangief called out from his place. "That was awesome, Wrecking Man!"

"How's _that_ for a vaild wave?" Ralph asked Bowser tauntingly as the water calmed, leaning cooly up against the edge of the pool with a satisfied smirk on his face.

"That was _waaay_ better than yours was, Bowser!" Donkey Kong admitted as he turned to eye the dragon for his response.

Bowser started a little by Ralph's impressive deplay of strength, but quickly smirked at the now smug wreckor.

"Uh, no way. I can make a waaay bigger wave than that." The over-sized turtle narrowed his eyes and hopped in the pool. "Game on, Wreck it!"

Seconds later, a huge wave sent Vanellope and the others by Bowser back on a wild, surf-like ride down to the other end towards Ralph once again, causing all the cheer. Vanellope especially.

The physical wave drought on a cheering one as the arcade characters now cheered for Bowser and his wave.

Once she came sailing back to Ralph's side again, Vanellope looked up at him, her water-soaked bangs sticking to her face like glue- and it was clear she was loving every minute of it.

Her eyes were wide with pure excitement. All traces of saddnees and emptiness were now completely gone as she squealed and cheered happily with the others.

"Can you top _that_ , Wreck-It?" Bowser smirked as he rested his hands up against the side of the pool with an air of cockiness.

Ralph eyed Vanellope, who lip her lip excitedly and eagerly at him, eyes overfilling with pure hope.

And Ralph just smirked down at her.

"Oh, I know I can, Wimp!" Ralph called good-heartedly back over to Bowser as he motioned his arms to cause another large wave of water and cheers.

"Beat that, Bowser! UGH! " Zombie declared from the sideline.

"Yeah, I bet he can!" Princess Peach laughed from her place on her beach towel.

Everyone who had been in the debate earlier, and a few extras, began to cheer out Bowser's and Ralph's name excitedly, gathering around at the edges of the pool...but, due to the threat of being arrested earlier, all were now calm in their loud cheering.

All the comotion got the attention of Surge at his post at the pool entrance. Curious, he came to inspect the possible new situation at the pool side.

But upon seeing that everyone was remaining fairly calm, no real fighting involved as Bowser created another wave, Surge knew he wasn't needed- although he couldn't help but silently place bets that Ralph was going to "win" this splash off.

The two villains continued to created splashes, each trying to create the most epic wave that topped the last one round after round. Ralph would splash, then Bowser would back- and every character between them loved it.

One wave, though, courtesy of Bowser, was so large it carried some of the water and a few of the characters on the small size to go up and over the side of the pool, landing on the concrete by Ralph. One of those characters was Vanellope.

Ralph at first panicked, thinking she possibly got hurt. But as she sat up, he saw she was too busy laughing hysterically.

"This...is...AWESOME! Top shelf!" She offered her tiny fist out to Ralph as she laughed, which he gladly return.

Vanellope quickly cannonballed in the pool and popped her head out beside Ralph, claiming her splash 'could be just as powerful as his can be.' When he laughed and confidently denied this, Vanellope quickly began splashing him.

"Hey!" Ralph laughed as he tried to cover his face. "You promised you wouldn't splash me for the rest of the day, kid!"

Vanellope paused to smirked at him.

"The word I used was ' _squirt'_ , Stink Brain. And besides, your butt is wet now, anyways!" She quickly returned to splashing him with glee, who retaliated by splashing her gently back.

The two friends created a trend of splashing whoever was closer to them. Taffeta turned to splash Candlehead, Rancis just splashed them both, Bowser splashed Zombie, who decided jump in the poll with an enthusiastic 'ugh.' Princess Peach delicately splashed Princess Daisy, who returned the favor. Even Mario and Luigi were having fun pushing water at each.

The pool quickly became filled with splashing game characters, who jumped into the pool to join the fun. It was clearly the most fun anyone had had all day.

Ralph looked down at Vanellope, who had the biggest, most happinest smile on her face he'd had ever seen. She was basking in all the hectic water fun, clearly loving every moment of it.

He smiled himself, knowing he'd made the best decision. Sure, he had just put a small band-aid over the child's pain, but at least it was a water-soaked band-aid now.

And Ralph couldn't help but take a mental photo of Vanellope before splashing her back happily.

After a few more around of splashing, it was clear that Vanellope was getting tired, her splash not as 'powerful' as before. She was having a blast, but ut was tiring her out quickly.

Ralph decided to hop out of the pool and scooped the exhausted child up gently from all the crazy water splashing going on, carrying her safely over to where the chairs were.

As he sat down after they wrapped themselves in their towels, Vaneollpe quickly climbed into his lap and after stretching a bit to get comfortable, the child leaned her back up against Ralph's stomach tiredly.

Ralph eyed down at her, seeing happiness glowing in her half-lidded, yet still large eyes and a content smile spread wide over her lips- and he couldn't help by do the same.

Laying his chin gently on the top of her head, the duo watched together silently as the others continued their splash offs, the two of them growing more tired by the minute. Ralph closed his eyes and sighed, happy Vanellope was completely content and happy herself finally.

"Hey! I'm almost completely dry now!" Vanellope squeaked suddenly.

Ralph opened his eyes and looked down at her as she smiled widely up at him.

"See?" she twisted her bathing suit a little to show nothing was dipping off it.

The child then quickly grab her bag and pulled out her beloved necklace.

"Can I put my necklace back on, Stink Brain? Please?" She begged with hopefully eyes.

Ralph smiled kindly at her.

"Only if I can put my back on, too, Booger Face," he told her with a smirk.

Each then carefully slipped on their beloved necklace over their heads, adjusting them to hang perfectly around their necks- right where the necklaces belonged.

"I believe you owe me a hotdog, Madam Booger Face," Ralph suddenly told Vaneollpe, gently sitting her on the ground and standing up himself. "For squirting me mercilessly and commanding your friends to do so as well."

He beckoned her to follow him as he walked towards the snack stand.

"Uh, yeah right," Vanellope countered, trailing right behind him. "It's more like _you_ owe _me_ a hotdog. For forcing me to squirt your giant butt in order to get you to play with me."

She glitched up to his shoulder to perch and smirk as she slipped her sunglasses on.

"Besides, you were kinda askin' for it by chosing a toilet book over me," she scoffed at him.

"Ok, fine," Ralph laughed. "I admit, it wasn't one of my finer choices. Obviously."

He gently wrapped his hand around her to make sure she wouldn't fall off his shoulders as they walked past the raging pool scene.

"But you also lied, caused everyone here to almost get arrested, and almost caused me to get killed by Bowser," he countered gently, eyeing up at her to gage her reaction...

Which was just her smile faltering just a tad, with a hint of uncertainty mixed in it- right before she shrugged it off.

"Hmmmm...that _is_ true, I did," Vanellope blushed sheepishly, looking down at him over her sunglasses. "But. ...I said I was sorry about all that...and besides, you _choose_ to get your own butt wet/ possibly arrested/ kill that second time, Stink Brain."

Ralph smiled slightly before smirking and setting her down gently in front of him once they reached the snack bar.

"Ok, ok, let's _both_ make a deal," he compromised. " _You_ stand in line for the hot dogs, and _I'll_ stand in line for the lemonade. Deal?"

The small glitch contemplated the idea as Ralph extended his large hand out for her to shake.

"Mmmm...Ok, deal," she agreed to the terms finally and shook Ralph's hand.

As Ralph walked over to stand in the lemonade line, he eyed back at the crazy pool scene, still raging on behind him- and shook his head as he realized this time it was due to _him._ Smiling, he turned to watch as a happy Vanellope skipped into the snack bar line for food.

Ralph then couldn't think of any better way to have spent the day at the pool with his little friend.


	7. Chapter 7:Wrecking Mode- Part 1

**Chapter Seven:** **Full Blown Wrecking Mode** **\- Part** **1**

 **(This chapter and the next are kinda intense with some boy-girl bullying, but** **I promise that it does lead to a happy ending :) Plus, they both combined contains a message about bullying I think is important ****to share :) Enjoy!)**

Ralph stood in the line for a few minutes, clearly getting impatient. The line seemed to slowly inch forward, made worse by the strong heat of the electronical sun.

 _How long is this going to take?_ the wreckor whined to himself in annoyance.

He decided to distract himself by looking back over to Vanellope to see where she was at in her line.

The food line she was in had all but almost disappeared. But Ralph was shocked to find Vanellope wasn't standing up at the window.

Looking around, he found she was still far back, almost where she had been standing when she first got in line.

And three boys who Ralph had never seen before were standing around her... and were laughing about something.

Looking at Vanellope's face, Ralph could tell something happened- to her, in particular. She seemed very panickly about something, looking all around her as if she had lost something.

Suddenly, one of the boys, a boy with a backwards facing hat and obvious attitude, whispered something quickly to another boy, a boy with aburn hair. The latter boy and the over hearing other boy with a baseball hat, seemed obviously hestistant about something, as if the whispering from the other boy was risky or even wrong.

Ralph was about to walk over to see what was going on, when, out of seeming nowhere, the boy with the aburn hair pushed Vanellope down. Hard.

She fell backwards into a puddle of muddy water, scraping her arms against the pavement and staining her bathing suit with brown, nasty blotches of muddy water.

"Haha! Nice one, Danny!" The boy with the backwards hat laughed to the boy who had pushed her in the mud.

Humiliated, Vanellope sat still, in too much shock to even stand up. She blushed as the boy with backwards smirked down at her, almost demeaning her just by his face.

Ralph, for his part, watched it all unfold in front of him- and froze.

If there was one thing the giant couldn't _stand,_ it was bullying of any sort.

And if there was anything he wouldn't _tolerant,_ it was boys bullying girls.

But _boys bullying Vanellope..._

THAT was a little too much for Ralph to be able to handle.

He suddenly felt his eye switch. His muscles tense up. His massive hands form massive fists. His hot temper rising. His innate anger that would lead to some serious wrecking. He could feel it.

Full Plown Wrecking Mode Ralph was coming out. And fast- without even a second thought.

Ralph started fuming uncontrollably. His eyes flashed red. Anything and _everything_ was now a target of his wrath.

He found his feet pounding the pavement hard as his heart was as he rushed over to the scene of Vanellope and the bullying boys.

The boys looked up to see a large -and obviously angry- man approaching them, looking like he was mad enough to explode.

Noticing his large hands forming intimidating fists, two of the three boys immediately backed away from Vanellope in fear. But the third boy, the one with the back facing hat and attitude, stood defiantly where he was, unfazed by the man's angry demeanor.

Ralph's angry approach didn't go unnoticed by Vanellope, either.

She could tell solely by his face- how bright red it was, along with the look in his eyes- that he was anger. More angry about what the boys had done to her than he had ever possibly been before. It made how angry he had been with her earlier look like nothing.

Vanellope also knew unmistakably that Ralph was about was about to go into full-plown wrecking mode.

Ralph charge forward, physical steam almost seen coming from his ears in anger...

But right when he was about to smash the three boys' skulls together, he stopped suddenly.

The smashing. The pounding. The red flash in his eyes and face. Everything seemed to pause for a minute, calmed down slightly.

Normally, Ralph wouldn't have tried to supress it all that much; it _was_ in Ralph's original coding and programming to wreck things and to get angry in ten-seconds flat, after all.

But when he actually paused to _think_ _what the results of his actions could be_ before continuing on his rampage, Ralph found it might be best if he _didn't_ pound these kids into pure code.

Ralph quickly realized that he was the only adult in this situation; everyone else were kids...so, yes, he _could_ completely wreck these three brats into fragments- but he'd _definitely_ end up in the Game Central Station Jail for it...

And be, once again, looked at as a monster, a mad villain...except on even an even _worse_ scale- because then all the accusations made against him would be _true._

He knew it was wrong to hurt any child, even they _did_ hurt Vanellope...and he knew he could seriously hurt these brat of kids if he wasn't careful.

Thus, Ralph _had_ to capture those destructive wrecking instincts inside and chain them up, no matter how much they would fight it.

And he needed to do so now- before they completely took over him.

 _Don't flip out, Ralph_ , he told himself as he continued to try to get a grip on his anger.

He knew it wasn't really for the boys, but for _Vanellope_ he needed to do so.

 _Vanellope_ _needs you to here be with her, not in some jail for hurting some stupid group of inmature boys_, Ralph reasoned with himself as he closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath.

 _Stay calm, Ralph. Stay calm._

Surprising himself - and Vanellope- Ralph found himself slightly calmer, fuming less. The red on his face, a lighter shade. The killer look in his eyes, not flashing as much. His programmed wrecking instincts, weakening ever so slightly.

He had somehow able to capture it all and shove it all back into the deep, dark corner of his mind to be chained up and locked up.

But when he opened his eyes again and saw the three brutes standing in front of him and his poor little friend, still the mud, Ralph could feel the key that locked it all up start to turn a little.

"YOU!" Ralph bellowed, pointing at the boy who had pushed Vanellope.

"How. _Dare_. You. Push. Her." the wreckor forced every word to come out slowly, shocking Vanellope with his strong yet composed demeanor.

 _Is he actully trying to be __calm?_ she wondered to herself.

The boy with auburn hair just shook slightly in response, never seeing a man quite as angry - or as big- as Ralph was before.

Taking another forced deep breath, Ralph then pointed to Vanellope.

"Get over there and help her stand up. NOW!" the giant then growled at the shaking boy.

When didn't move, one of those boys pushed the boy forward.

"C'mon, Danny," the boy hised to the one who had pushed Vanellope. "Go over and help her alrrady before that man kills you!"

The boy, Danny, stood there for a moment, too afraid to even move.

"Oh, what? You expect _me_ to be the one to help her get up?" Ralph challenged suddenly, his hands balled up on his hips. " _Y_ _ou're_ the one who pushed her, weren't ya? So _you're_ going to be the one who is going to help her stand up, not me!"

Ralph then growled and pointed to Vanellope once more, emphasizing his point that he wasn't going to help her the way Danny should.

Hesitantly walking over and looking admittedly ashamed, Danny offered his hand to her. Vanellope, although shocked, gingerly took it and slowly stood up.

"Now, help her wipe off all the mud from her," Ralph added sternly to the boy.

Eyeing his friends wearily, Danny help Vanellope wipe the mud off her arms and back. Once done, the boy went and stood back by his friends, sensing the large man was going to expect more from him.

After shooting more daggers at the boys with his eyes, Ralph gently beckoned Vanellope to come over to where he stood waiting, his voice obviously softer than before.

As she approached him sniffling, he was relieved to see she was walking fine, appearing to have no broken bones or fragments. He peered over her with his eyes, seeing that she seemed to physically unharmed.

But as she approached him closer and closer, Ralph saw Vanellope was beginning to cry more painfully.

"What's wrong, kid?" He asked her gently as he knelt down on his knee to examine her more closely to further make sure she really wasn't physically hurt.

"He- he broke it!" Vanellope cried out tearfully as she melted before him, her heart clearly in pain.

Ralph was wrong; she _had_ broken something.

 _Don't lose it, Ralph,_ he forced himself to think. _Be calm. For Vanellope's sake._

He quickly and gently pulled her closer to him to hold her.

"Broke what?" he asked her extremely worriedly as he looked her over once more, afraid he had missed something.

"M-my necklace!" Vanellope shocked him by saying. "T-the one you made me! He grabbed it and b-broke it!" She added as cried painfully into her hands, weeping so hard her shoulders shook.

Ralph immediately felt himself tensed up.

 _The necklace,_ his mind echoed painfully. _Her necklace. It means so much to her. It getting broken must hurt her- way more than any broken bone would've. _

The wrecking instincts scratched at the containing lock in his body with anewed flared anger.

"Wait, which was the one who broke it, Vanellope?" Ralph asked her, growling outloud as his voice heightened even more.

"That one, A-Andy, I think," Vanellope turned and wiped her tears away as she pointed timidly to the boy with the base ball hat.

With one large hand reassuringly on her back, Ralph stood straight back up to his original towering and intimidating height.

"You!" He growled at the boy with the base ball hat, who shook with fear.

With his other hand, Ralph snapped his large fingers together and pointed to the ground.

"Get on your hands and knees and find every single one of those beads from her necklace... and the string. Now!" he instructed firecely.

The boy, Andy, somehow to find the guts to challenge the massive man.

"What?!" the young boy began to object, "Why would I-"

"You're not expecting _me_ to find them, are ya?" Ralph interrupted sharply. "You're the one who broke that necklace in the first place, so you're going to find all those beads to that necklace, not me. Go find them! Now!"

Nervously, Andy then complied and on hands and knees, started searching for every bead and the string. One by one, he brought them over to Ralph and laid them in his massive, outstretched hand. Each bead-including the middle, heart shaped one- finally was found after a few minutes, which felt like an agonizing eternity for Vanellope.

When Ralph's hand was filled with beads (and the string), Andy silently went and stood over by his friends once again as Danny had done.

Ralph narrowed his eyes at the three young boys in front of him, hopefully teaching them lesson. He was now merely ashamed of their behavior...

But _proud_ of his.

The wreckor had somehow successfully controlled his anger and wrecking instincts. Those usually uncontrollable instincts were now quietly sitting tucked away in their dungeon, all but clearly behind and away from the lock that contained them.

Ralph _could_ successfully handle a situation without wrecking things, with a little reasoning beforehand.

But still, one thought bothered him. And he needed to know the truth.

"Now...Whose whole idea was this in the first place? Huh?" Ralph demanded calmly, eyes jumping from each boy to the next.

All three boys just stood quietly for a minute afraid to answer him.

After a few minutes, Danny finally cracked.

"Aw, c'mon Jack!" his hissed beside him to the boy with the backwards hat.

"Yeah, admit that it was all your idea and apologize already!" Andy added as he shoved the boy named Jack by the shoulder forward where Ralph and Vanellope stood waiting.

"Shut up, scrubs!" The boy named Jack hissed back as he rolled his eyes and fixed his messed up sleeve. "I ain't apologize for _nothing_."

He glared tauntingly up at Ralph, clearly unfazed by the man's large size.

"Especially not to some giant's _ugly_ daughter," the boy hissed rudely.

One of Ralph's eye twitched, his face flushed red.

His mind didn't catch the 'daughter' part of that comment...

But it certainly did the 'ugly' part.

 _Wait._. _.did_ _this_ _boy_ _really_ _just_ _call_ _Vanellope_ _ugly_ _after_ _all_ _he's_ _done_ _to_ _her?!_

Ralph started panying, his anger flaring back to life. He could feel the wrecking instincts inside him come roaring back to life, wrecking the lock completely as their prison cell door swung wide open.

Forget the reasoning, the second guessing.

Ralph _couldn't_ successfully handle a situation without wrecking at least once.

There was no doubt it- this brat of a boy was about to get a _major_ wrecking.


	8. Chapter 8:Wrecking Mode- Part 2

**Chapter Eight: Full Blown Wrecking Mode- Part 2**

Ralph was angry.

Angrier, possibly, than he ever had been before.

He had been mad before- he had been furious at Gene for saying he was just a bad guy; he had been enraged at King Candy/Turbo for taking over Sugar Rush; he had even gotten flat-out livid at Vanellope a time or two.

But this- the out-right denial this boy had, more than the others, for making fun of Vanellope, _a little girl,_ and then directing the others for hurt her...

It was beyond any angry Ralph had ever felt before.

Willingly and without caring about what the consequences mighy be, Ralph was about to completly _pummel_ the jerk boy named Jack for calling Vanellope ugly...

But the wreckor then hesitated when he felt Vanellope nervously back up closer to his massive leg.

Looking down at her, Ralph could see the little girl was very tense and obviously very uncomfortable and afraid of Jack being closer to her, more tahn she had with the other boys. She looked up at Ralph, her hero and protector, with fear and uncertainty written in her large, telling eyes.

Ralph's heart ached him, not used to seeing Vanellope, his side-kick and best friend, this tensed up, this scared.

And he didn't like it, especially since it was because of _a boy_.

Ralph wanted to wreck that boy so hard he'd never see daylight again...but those

wrecking instincts were pushed aside by his protective instincts for Vanellope.

He could she in her eyes that she needed him to protect her, more than she needed him to wreck those boys her hurting her.

Sighing as he tried to regain a semi-calm composure, Ralph patted Vanellope's back gently and reassuringly.

When her tension lightened with his reassuring touch, Ralph then silently narrowed his eyes at the brute of a boy in front of him. The wreckor swallowed up his anger the best he could as he shoved his large hand filled with beads towards the boy.

"String every one of these beads back on," he told Jack calmly, yet with a growl stronger than it had been when speaking to the other boys. "With that big one in the middle."

The boy, Jack, snorted at the mere idea Ralph presented to him. He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms in refusal.

"Yeah, right," The boy growled mockingly. "Like I'm gonna do that."

Ralph glared fiercely down at him, calmly, however as he spoke once more to the disrespectful child.

"You're the one who-"

"Uh, wrong, Mr.Ugly," Jack cut him off. " _I'm_ not the one who broke her stupid necklace, remember? It was Andy." He answered rudely as he threw a thumb pointed back at the boy named Andy.

"Or you just as stupid as you look?" Jack then added tauntingly to the wreckor as he smirked.

Vaneollpe's eyes widened and she heard a small gasp escape her lips.

 _This kid is just asking for a wrecking, _she thought to herself in worry, eyeing up at Ralph to see his reaction.

The wreckor just stood silently for a minute, however, before surprising them all by answering in calm, even voice.

"Maybe I am, kid. But I'd rather look and be stupid than to _ever_ hurt a girl. Like you did."

"Uh, did you even _see_ what happened, dummy?" Jack snapped back, sounding more defensive than ever. "I never actually _hurt_ her- and who's ta say I ever would?"

"Well, you told _others_ to hurt her," Ralph answered him with reasoning. "And you made fun of her, too. That's _just_ as bad as actually hurting her or breaking her things, kid."

 _"Whatever,"_ Jack rolled his eyes, brushing off the lecture. "I'm still not stringing the stupid beads."

"Uh, it's not a suggestion, kid. It's a command," Ralph countered sharply, feeling his already stretched-out patience growing thinner and thinner.

He could be calm...but not for much longer.

"Uh, I don't care. I'm not some stupid jeweler," Jack mocked the man once more as he continued in his refusal. "There's no way I'm going that- and there's no way you're going to make me! "

Snarling, Ralph felt his innate wrecking instincts come roaring in response again to the young boy's refusal.

He was done playing the 'good guy' with this brat.

It was time to be the intimidating 'bad guy' Ralph was made to be- or at least to threaten be could be.

"Kid, I'm not playing around. Either do it, or-"

 _"Kid, I'm not playing around,"_ Jack mocked the angry wreckor, sounding lot like Vanellope in a way- only way more annoying and rude to Ralph. _"Either do it, or-"_

"...You get the alternative," Ralph hissed suddenly and threateningly to the boy, removing his hand from Vanellope's back to clench it into a mighty fist in front of him.

Gulping, Vanellope eyed the fist herself, thinking how amazing it was that one moment Ralph's hand could be patting her back as gentle as a mouse, and then the next forming the strongest, most threatening fist she could ever imagine.

Ralph had surpised her by remaining so calm in this situation...but even _she_ could tell that now Ralph had his limits- and that they were getting more and more reached by Jack.

The glitch subconsciously thought about how she had copied Ralph before...but she knew no matter how mad he'd get, she'd _never_ get _that_ strong or angry of a reaction out of him.

 _Man, th_ _is boy is truly a moron for thinking he could ever challenge Ralph and get his way,_ she thought silently about Jack, who eyed the fist.

Seeming a little less confident in his refusal than he had before, Jack rolled his eyes- more out of nervousness than disgust. He got smart and grudgingly grabbed the string from Ralph's hand, stringing the biggest bead it on. Then, he slowly grabbed another, then another.

Never taking his glare off the boy and allowing it yo weaken, Ralph was happy with the kid's comprimse...

But he then noticed something surprising.

Ralph quickly realized that Jack wasn't just stringing the beads back on just to get it done.

Without even being asked by Ralph to, Jack was grudgingly wiping off all the mud on the beads on his shirt as he went before placing them on back the string.

Ralph raised an eyebrow at him, somewhat confused. As stubborn as this boy had been just seconds ago, why was he suddenly doing such an unexpected, unasked, and even a... _kind..._ act for Vanellope's beloved necklace?

But the surpises from the boy didn't stop there.

When he done with it, the necklace wasn't a complete mess, as Ralph had honestly expected it to be with the boys' attitude...No, the necklace looked even _better_ than it did before, when Ralph had done it in the first place, now sparklily clean abd bright.

Ralph found the behavior and care put into cleaning up and re-stringing the necklace by the obstinate boy odd, yet satisfying.

But now it was Jack's turn to be surprised.

The wreckor then gently pulled up Vanellope's long, raven hair and placed it all onto the crown her head.

Eyeing Jack, Ralph told him: "Now, tie it back around her neck where it belongs."

"What?!" Jack screeched, blushing as he jumped back- yet still holding the necklace carefully with his fingers. "No _way_ am I doing that!"

"Now," Ralph told him sharply, eyeing back diwn at Vanellope's, then back at the boy once more.

Jack, giving an over-dramatic sigh with seeing there was again no option, finally complied.

He walked behind Vanellope and began to gently place it around Vaneollpe's neck to tie it, both him and the girl blushing profusely in embarassment.

As soon as he was done tying it, Jack pushed past the Vanellope to stand by his friends again. The reddness in his checks finally starting to fade, Jack glared back up at the large wreckor dareingly as Ralph gently let Vanellope's hair fall back down her backside.

Vanellope looked down at her necklace around her neck safely again, and saw that it was just as beautiful as before- if not more so. No one could even tell it was had ever even been broken to smithereens or that ot had been ripped off her neck to begin with...especially now that it hung safely around her neck, where it belonged.

Warmness grew once again inside her at the touch of the necklace, Vanellope closed her eyes happliy, feeling content and safe again.

Turning his attention to Vanellope, Ralph saw the happiness on her face and when she opened her eyes to look at him- causing the man to smile himself.

Satisfied with her reaction to the necklace, Ralph then called each boy "front and center" in front of him (a term, Vanellope knew, that he had clearly learned from Calhoun).

When each boy, including Jack, stood in front of the massive man, Ralph began the next part of his plan.

"Each of you will now apologize to Vanellope for your _personal_ part in hurting her," he told the boys calmly as he gently shuffled Vanellope forward towards the boys.

Vaneollpe felt slightly tense once more being in front of the boys, fear rising in her code...But when she eyed back at Ralph over her shoulder, she knew he'd never put her in harms way.

He had her back, as he always did, and would _never_ let these boys hurt her again.

Vanellope then sighed shakily, and looked wearily at Danny, ready for his apology to her.

He, still looking ashamed, stepped closer to her and began.

"I'm sorry, Vanellope..." he said softly, "for pushing you in the puddle. Jack told me to, and I-"

"I don't care if _Mr.Litwak_ told you to," Ralph interrupted the boy sharply. "You're _still_ the one who did pushed her and hurt her. It doesn't matter if someone else told you to or not- you must apologize for _your_ own actions."

Danny sighed shakily in clear shame.

"I-I know. I was wrong to do to hurt her," the boy admitted to Ralph, twisting his fingers together in nervousness. He then looked back straight at Vaneelope.

"I'm really sorry, Vanellope," he told her, looking, nearly begging, in her eyes for forgiveness.

Subconsciously rubbing her slightly scraped arm, Vanellope smiled gently and nodded wordlessly at him.

Danny sighed in relief, only to watch as Andy next stepped forward.

"I'm sorry I broke your necklace Vanellope," he told her as he rubbed the top of his foot over the ground, his voice obviously sincere and ashamed.

Vanellope rubbed her restored necklace around her neck and gave a small smile at him to let him know he was forgiven as well.

All eyes now fell on Jack, who kept eyeing Vanellope subtly.

"Cmon, man!" Andy grabbed Jack's arm and dragged him forward until he was standing right in front of Vanellope as he and Danny were. "Apologize already!"

"Yeah," Danny argreed, latching onto Jack's other arm. "You're the one who started this whole mess!"

Squirming out of their grasp, Jack rolled his eyes yet again.

 _If he does that one more time,_ Ralph thought threateningly about the most stubborn boy of the three, beyond irritated with him.

But then he noticed that when Jack's eyes rolled over to where Vanellope stood waiting and met hers, the boy immediately began to blush again and looked away from her quickly, avoiding her eye contact at all possible. His face was as red as a Pac-Man cherry as he forced his eyes to look down at the ground.

Ralph couldn't help but eye the kid curiously and in confusion.

This boy Jack, like the others, was starting to feel truly ashamed of himself...but still, he wasn't acting quite the way the other boys did.

The above and beyond care Jack had put into restoring the broken necklace...all the blushing and fidgeting that he did when near Vanellope...The very fact that Jack had asked his friends to do the dirty work of hurting the little girl instead of doing it _himself_...

But then again, the boy _had_ said some mean things about Vanellope, and had commanded others hurt her...but it was almost like it was all...

Forced, maybe? An act, perhaps? An _act_ of meanness towards the little girl for some reason instead of it being genuine? A false bravdo of meanness?...

But why? Why would Jack just be mean to Vanellope for no reason?... Especially when he was obviously intimidated by the girl himself?

Ralph shook his head, unsure of how to answer those questions.

Then, an idea as the why came to him...a horrifying idea, nonetheless.

 _Maybe this boy...is acting like this towards Vanelllope, pretending to dislike her and bullying her all...because he-he..._

Ralph's eyes widened.

He quickly decided to shut down the horrorifing line of thought that and decided he'd worry about all _that_ possibly truth later.

Ralph was forced to focus back at the boy in front of him as Jack mumbled something, so low either Ralph nor even Vanellope could hear.

"Wh-what?" Vanellope asked Jack timidly.

"I SAID I'M SORRY, ALRIGHT?!" the boy suddenly screeched loudly, causing all to jump.

But after Ralph glared threateningly at him again, Jack repeated his answer more softly.

"I'm sorry, okay? Sheesh...," he mumbled out. "I was wrong to think it'd be okay to tell Danny to push you and to tell Andy to break your _precious_ necklace, ok?

"And I'm sorry I called you ugly...," he eyed Vanellope in uncertainty as he continued. "...Which a stupid, blind 8-bit _monkey_ could easily tell isn't true."

Obviously frustrated as his friends eyed him for the strange comment he had made about Vanellope, Jack then roughly shoved his hands in his pockets.

Ralph was silent for a moment, trying to process the gut-wrenching, no doubt truth he had tried to ignore or deny.

Yup, this boy Jack _definitely_ like Vanellope.

Ralph sighed and gulped, deciding to ignore it all and panic later...

 _B_ _ut weren't these kids too young to be liking other kids like that?!_ the wreckor couldn't help panickly think.

 _No, worry about all that later, Ralph..._

For now, he needed to focus on the situation at hand...and decided although there was obvious mock in the boy's voice, it was, all and all, a pretty decent apology- especially considering the confusing boy it was coming from.

The wreckor then eyed Vaneollpe to see if she'd forgive Jack. If the little girl could forgive this brute of a boy, then Ralph would force himself to kinda forgive him, too.

Vanellope eyed Jack self-consciousnessly as she tugged at her necklace and swallowed hard, innocently not being able to pick up on his nervousness (or his obvious fancying her).

"O-okay," she whispered finally, which oddly seemed to put Jack slightly more at ease, blushing once more as he eyed her cautiously.

Ralph eyed him intensely, but then eyed the other two as them. He then placed his hands behind his back and stood straight up.

"Alrighty, boys," he began, with a mock sound of happiness on his voice as he broke the silence between the kids. "What did we learn today?"

When all three were silent, Ralph continued.

"No takers?" he asked, a look of sarcasm written on his face. "Well then, I'll just tell you."

Stepping forward, Ralph placed a reasurring hand on Vanellope's shoulder, calming down her slightly racing heart.

"First off," Ralph began his lecture, "anytime you decide to hurt a girl or her property -or tell _others_ to do it- because you think it's funny, or a good idea, or...even to get her attention because you may like her," he added that last part as he eyed Jack, "it doesn't ever make it ok. Despite what anyone has ever told you, it's _never, ever_ ok to hurt a girl, boys. Ever.

"And, second off," Ralph continued, "it's not just another guy's responsibility to come along and fix anything damage _you've_ done to a girl- it's _yours_. And you're _going_ to fix it, if at all possible." Ralph eyed the boys with sharp eyes as he drove the point home.

"You _hurt_ a girl, no matter the reason behind it, you _fix_ that girl. Got it?"

The boys -including a tomato red, head down Jack- nodded in acceptance and understanding.

"Last, but certaintly not least, boys," Ralph added, "if _any_ of you so much as _blink_ in Vanellope's direction again, I won't be so nice next time. I'll be more than happy to pound the code out of all of ya and make sure none of ya regenerate."

His voice gravely and deep, Ralph glared at the boys threateningly at all three boys. He then raised a tight, close handed fist to prove his point that much further. "Understood?"

When all the boys -including Jack- quickly nodded in timid response, Ralph gave a single nodded back in slight approval, clear that he was done lecturing them.

He then quickly shooed the three boys out the pool gates near by, hopping that they all had gained a lasting lesson...Especially that Jack.

Suddenly, with the boys being gone, the air was quiet and thin.

Ralph eyed down Vanellope at his side as she clutched her necklace wide eyed. Both then began to look subtly around them, just then remembering that they were still at the pool.

Everything had seemed to pause for them at the start of the situation with the bullying boys.

But as the giant and the glitch eyed everyone else there, the earth around them hadn't seemed to pause at all.

Everyone who was still in the pool were still carrying on playing. Everyone who was in line now were enjoying their their glasses of lemonade and/or hotdog. Everything and everyone was just the same as they had been before the whole incident with the boys had even taken place.

Both became silent as Ralph finally gently scooped Vanellope up and carried her back over to their chairs, which she complied with.

They both had completely forgotten about the hotdogs and lemonade deal. But it wasn't because of the bullying boys or the lesson taught to them.

For one of the two, it was because of the feeling of a strange peace unknown to her as she tearfully hugged the other's neck tightly- for the other, it was because of the contentfulness he felt that his little girl was ok as he hugged her back gently.

 **(Chapter Nine (the last chapter) will be done soon :) )**


	9. Chapter 9:Light Bulbs

**Chapter Nine: Light Bulbs**

 **(Well, this is the last chapter of this story :'( First off, this story ended up being _way_ more emotional than I thought it would end up or even meant for it to be lol I guess I'm just deeply and even emotionally attached to the duo of Ralph and Vanellope myself :) But I felt like this'll end it on a good note :) ( And trust me, I promise that (most) of my other stories that I have for Wreck it Ralph won't be so emotional lol ;) )**

 **(Also, I really hope this last chapter wraps it up well for all the readers and answers any questions they may have in regards to what kind of relationship Ralph and Vanellope have in this story. But mostly, I hope everyone enjoyed reading this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it :')** **Thanks** **for** **reading** , **everyone!** **:D)**

Both of their minds still swirling over all that had just happened with the boys, Ralph set Vanellope gently down in front of him in silence as he sat down on the edge of his chair.

He gave her an updown as she stood, still looking a little in shock.

"You ok there, kid?" he asked her softly, shaking her from her trance.

"Y-yeah, I think so," she answered, voice shaking slightly. She looked out at the pool scene, way calmer than it had been before. The little girl couldn't help but shake a little bit as a sudden breeze floated on through the area.

Sudden, the little girl felt a small stab of pain on her arm. She grabbed it and held it up to examine where the pain was coming from. A small scratch on the back of her arm was revealed, with a little bit of code leaking out of it.

Ralph noticed it, as well as her shaking, and silently grabbed their bag. Digging through it, he pulled out a small bag filled with different sized band-aids. He took one out and, gently pulling Vanellope close to him, he placed the band-aid on the scratch. Rubbing his fingers softly over the scratch to make sure the band-aid would stick, the wound was sealed immediately.

"I _still_ can't believe that all happen," Ralph muttered, more to himself than to her. "Stupid jerks..."

He rolled his eyes as he wrapped Vanellope gently in her beach towel, in an attempt to warm her and to wipe off the extra mud that that boy didn't get wiped off. Ralph then looked up and towards the pool to clear his angry mind.

As he did, Vanellope could still see the sincere anger in his eyes. It was sharp in his eyes, so strong that Vanellope couldn't quite figure it out. She knew that it wasn't directed at _her_ , though..but why was it so strong?

After a moment, it occurred to her that Ralph was angry at _others. At those boys_ because they had hurt _her,_ bullied her and had broke her necklace. It was clear that it all really upset him, urking him.

Vanellope thought back on the times when Ralph had protected her before.

He had _always_ protected her, before and even after the reset- so fierce, so strong, even if it, at times, meant his imminent death.

But _t_ _his_ time was different for some reason, Vanellope felt...For whatever the reason being, Ralph's anger was stronger, more fierce, causing him to be even _more_ protective of her than usual.

Even when King...er, _Turbo_ was alive and trying to prevent her from racing, Ralph had never been _this_ angry with him.

In fact, Ralph had _never_ been this angry at someone else, not that she knew of, at least.

But Vanellope noticed that as Ralph's eyes wandered back over at her, all the anger was gone from them the second they met hers.

They were filled with gentleness and kindness once again, with a sense of softness and fondness...

That he never looked at anyone else with like he did Vaneollpe.

By this one, familar look, it was crystal clear to Vanellope that Ralph really did treat her different from everyone else in his life...and that he cared for her- and even that he would never... leave or abandon her.

Suddenly, a new feeling hit Vanellope like a ton of sugar-coated go-karts.

It was as if a light bulb had suddenly been turned on for her, lighting up everything in her mind- and every emotion inside her.

It lit up the always unexplained reason as to why Vanellope truly loved that necklace from Ralph and all it made her feel...

The reason why she was his little sidekick- and why she always would be...

Why she was always begging him to spend time with her and doing whatever she could to make that happen- and why she loved and craved his attention, kindness, or approval all the time...

Why she was always constantly so worried about upsetting him or angering him in any serious way, causing him to leave her- and why she'd do anything to prevent that from happening...

Why she, more that anything in her life, now vauled him and their friendship so much.

It was because, for the first time time in her life, Vanellope had finally found someone who actually _loved her back_ \- and wasn't even afraid to show or defend that love.

Whose love was so protective over her that they'd never allow anyone to hurt her again.

Whose love was so strong and loyal, it was clear that they'd never leave her or abandon her- kinda like...

Family member never would.

Vanellope eyes widened when she realized that she could actually say Ralph loved her like a family member would- as she, of course, did in return.

But the light bulb glowing inside her glew much brighter when she realized then that his love for her was actually even stronger, even better than that of just _any_ family member.

He had a...rare parent-like love for her.

A rare father-like love for her.

Finally, every emotion that Vanellope had tried to force was just free to be, making her heart feel like it could completely bust in pure happiness. She felt a peace completely unknown to her.

She was finally loved and protected, by the best makeshift father a glitch could ask for.

And she could loved him back- knowing she'd never be left numb again or abandoned by him.

As Ralph gently wiped off a few flakes of dust that was still in Vanellope hair from the fall she had suffered from the boys' pushing, a small smile of empathy surfaced on his face. It faded, however, when he noticed a strange look on her little face.

It was a mixture of pure happiness and shock, a look she'd never really had before.

Ralph eyed her, concerned. "Are you _sure_ you're-"

Holding back tears, Vanellope interrupted Ralph accidentally by springing in his arms for a surprise hug, tossing him back slightly.

Although he was a little taken back- and confused- by the surprise hug, Ralph quickly returned the hug gently. He leaned back slightly in his chair, just glad she was ok.

As she snuggled closer to him, Ralph then felt his own at-first strange feeling.

He always couldn't help but be protective over Vanellope, he knew, perhaps even a little too much. He knew, though, it was worth having her safe and snuggled close in his arms as he held her gently.

But this felt different for some reason.

Her arms around his neck felt a little tighter, her little heart seeming to beat a little faster. She seemed to feel a little safer there in his arms than ever before.

And he felt a strange sense of peace fill inside him.

Ralph honestly loved being the one who made that litle kid feel completely safe- because he knew she hadn't always been...

This poor kid had been hurt, abandon, and demeaned more in her young life than Ralph knew he had ever been in his 30-something years of game-play.

 _Who cpuld ever be so mean to such a great kid?_ Ralph asked himself as the child cuddled close to him, her head snuggled on his shoulder.

That's when it clicked for _Ralph_ like a suddenly flip of a light switch.

It highlighting a fact he always knew was true, but was strangely always unaware of since it was always somewhat left in the dark.

This kid wasn't just _some_ kid to him.

She was _his_ kid.

Vanellope wasn't _just_ his little friend; she was a member of his family.

No, in fact, she _was_ his family, his whole little family.

And the two seemed to not be just any kind of a two-member family; Ralph realized that they possibly shared one of the strongest, closest bond in a family unit ever possible.

That of maybe...even father and daughter?

Was that why Ralph had really gave Vanellope that necklace, the one that mirrors his own beloved necklace from her?...

Why he always wanted to make sure Vanellope had a perfect day, everyday, and made sure she spent it with him?...

Why he felt that he was the happinest, most loved, most worthy, most cared about, more good being with her?...

Was it why Ralph treasured Vanellope more and more everyday, no matter how childish she could act? Or why he wanted to put as many emotional band-aids as he could on her slow-to-heal emotional scars...or maybe just remove the need for ever even needing one, if even possible?...

Was it why he never felt so deeply attached to anyone as he was with her, or as fiercely protective? Or why he'd vowed that he would never allow any to ever hurt her again- and even allowed himself slip back into 'bad guy' mode to make sure that it didn't happened?...

Was it by he worried so much about her- and, irrationally, about her getting older, if her game allowed her to somehow? Why he worried about her self-esteem and self-worth...and now, thanks to the incident with the bullying boys, why he was having worrying about bullys and _boys_ her age liking her...

Was the fact that Ralph loved Vanellope like a daughter the raeson why everyday day the wreckor was more and more grateful that that little dreamer entered his life- and had, well, completely wrecked it for the better?

It hit Ralph then, the light bulb inside feeling like it could bust.

He truly love this kid, _his_ kid. In fact, Vanellope was no doubt the person that he loved the most in his life.

And warmly, he knew by her tight, loving hug that the glitch no doubt felt the same way about him.

As a father and daughter definitely would about each other.

Smiling back tears, Ralph felt a peace overtake him completely.

He realized then that he was loved and looked up to, by the best kid he could ever imagine meeting.

And he loved her back- and vowed that he always would...no mater _how_ much of a stink brain she could be.

Melting slightly at the thought, Ralph laid the side of his face on Vanellope's head in happiness...

Which only seemed to warm the child's heart that much more as she closed her eyes and snuggled deeper into his neck.

Everyone and everything seemed to fade out completely in both their minds.

The shrieking of the Sugar Rush kids playing in the pool still; the yell of Bowser as Sonic zoomed by him; the man at the snack bar yelling for Donkey Kong and Junior 'to come and get their bananas'- all merely background noise.

The sound of splashing water in the crowded pool, the smell of over cooked hotdogs and old suntan lotion, the sight of characters cannonballing into the deep-in of the glistening pool -all completely drowned out.

Even all of the harsh, dark and cruel memories- the nagging of Gene's voice and comments, the unsettling anxious thoughts of fear, of being abandon...

They _all_ were permanently laid to rest as the new brilliant light killed them all. Forever.

Although it was forever unspoken, the moment then shared between Ralph and Vanellope was indeed unique.

They could now finally be truly happy, content and lucky to have their new-found, stronger friendship- and could completely forget anything that happened in their past.

And it made a simple fact clear: Everything was finally perfect and at peace now that Ralph and Vanellope were a makeshift family -a father and daughter duo- of their own.

After a few minutes of him silently holding her in his arms, Ralph thought Vanellope had possibly fallen asleep due to the now calming breeze chilling them slightly. But seconds later, the child sat up straight again, adjusting her precious, priceless necklace subconsciously. She then eyed his necklace, and adjusted it to hang perfectly on his neck as well.

A look of gratitude filled her large hazel eyes, Ralph noticed. A few rare tears ran down her cheeks, though it was clear they were happy tears.

Ralph just smiled and rubbed the tears off her cheeks, though he felt that he was starting to get choked up himself.

"You ready to head home now, kiddo?" He quickly asked her, eager to get back to the lightheartedness.

Vanellope responded by shaking her head and smiling quickly.

"Let's make a pit stop at Tapper's first, please?" she asked, all tears now gone as she started the strongest and biggest sad-puppy-dog eyes Ralph had ever seen.

Laughing, he rolled his eyes playfully, which thankfully rolled away any tears that threatened to leak out.

"Ok, fine, President Fart Feathers," he caved in. "Let's get going then."

Vanellope glitched off his lap and happily and quickly began to put her things in their bag as Ralph stood up to help her.

As they folded up umbrellas, beach chairs and waved good bye to all their friends in the pool scene, neither Ralph nor Vanellope had any idea what was going to happen next for them.

Or what _life_ had planned next for them.

But both _were_ sure of one thing: Life was crazy unpredictable sometimes, like water waves in a way.

It was definitely hard at times, the lowest hardest tides it could ever contained once were poured out onto both Ralph and Vanellope in their past, forgiven lives.

But life also had its' way of producing high-tides as well, its' definite ups that made a person feel as if they were surfing through the clouds.

Ups and downs, happiness and saddness, people who would come and go- that is life's ever changing waves, and it would always continue to just like that.

But mostly, as the makeshift father and daughter then left the pool that day, they knew they were leaving ready.

Really for the next crazy adventure together.

Ready for whatever life threw their way next, whether high-tides to surf on or low hitting, crashing surges to sail through- and they were ready to face all the waves together.

And both were ready to have yet even _more_ light bulbs shine brightly as the now unspoken father and daughter duo now they were.

"That was the best day at the pool _ever!_ " Vanellope cheered as she lead the way out the gates of the pool and to the way to Tapper's root beer game.

Ralph laughed.

"That was your _only_ day at the Game Central Station thus far, kid," he reminded Vanellope as he -once again- carried everything through the entrance gates.

Vanellope skipped carefree in front of him.

"Well, _ga-doi_ ," she answered her makeshift father with a smirk. "It was still pretty much absolutely... _perfect._ "

And although he couldn't _see_ her, Ralph smiled- and couldn't agree with his little girl more.

~~~~~~~ _The End~~~~~~~~_


End file.
